Toronto police officer charged in Whitby collision that seriously injured 18-year-old

The logo of the Ontario Special Investigations Unit is pictured in Toronto, April 12, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

A Toronto police officer has been charged in connection with a collision in Whitby in June that left an 18-year-old man seriously injured.

Joseph Martino, the director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), said in a news release on Saturday that he had reasonable grounds to believe that Det .-Const. Joshua Baksh committed a criminal offence in the June 25 incident that occurred in the parking lot of a Canadian Tire in the area of Garden Street and Taunton Road East.

According to the SIU, which is an arm’s length agency called in to investigate whenever police are involved in a death, serious injury, allegations of sexual assault, Toronto police had been looking for a man that day and located him in the parking lot riding a scooter.

“An officer driving an unmarked Toronto Police Service vehicle collided with the scooter,” the SIU said. One scooter rider, an 18-year-old man, was seriously injured as a result and taken to the hospital.

Following an SIU investigation, Det .-Const. Baksh has been charged with dangerous driving and assault with a weapon. He is scheduled to appear in an Oshawa court in March.

The SIU said it would not be releasing details of the investigation as the matter was now before the courts.