Call for Investigation of Police Restraining Methods
Last year, teenager Junior Manon died in police custody after being subjected to a new "grounding technique" adopted in 2010, which allows officers to use their bodyweight for restraint purposes. Ontario's chief forensic pathologist concluded that Manon, who was held to the ground face-down, died of positional asphyxia.
The officers who tried to arrest Manon have been cleared, but the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) admits that during the struggle, "pressure was placed on (Manon's) chest in a manner that could have caused it to compress and interfere with his breathing, a classic indicia of death caused by positional asphyxia."
Staff Sgt. David Gillis, who trains Toronto police on the use of force, says the positions used in the new grounding technique "could impair heart and lung functions, which could lead to positional asphyxia."
Sign now to urge the SIU to conduct a full investigation of the new grounding technique and to advise Ontario police on the adoption of methods that use appropriate force in grounding and restraint.
We the undersigned urge you to conduct a full investigation of the "grounding technique" adopted in 2010. Last year, teenager Junior Manon died of positional asphyxia after being subjected to the technique, during which he was held to the ground face-down. In your own statement, you noted that "pressure was placed on (Manon's) chest in a manner that could have caused it to compress and interfere with his breathing, a classic indicia of death caused by positional asphyxia." Further, Staff Sgt. David Gillis, who trains Toronto police on the use of force, says the positions used in the new grounding technique "could impair heart and lung functions, which could lead to positional asphyxia." We call on you to conduct a thorough investigation into the technique and advise Ontario police accordingly on the adoption of methods that use appropriate force in grounding and restraint.
