Two Durham police officers have been charged in connection with a multi-vehicle collision last spring that killed four people, including two grandparents and their infant grandchild, following a police chase of a suspect driving the wrong way on Canada’s busiest highway, Ontario’s police watchdog says.
Sgt. Richard Flynn and Const. Brandon Hamilton have been charged with three counts each of criminal negligence causing death and two counts each of criminal negligence causing bodily harm, the Special Investigations Unit said in a news release Friday.
Both officers are required to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Oshawa on Feb. 13.
Experts are questioning the police’s decision to pursue an alleged robbery suspect who drove the wrong way down Canada’s busiest highway, resulting in a deadly crash.
The SIU says it is not providing further comment on the investigation as the matter is before the courts.
Durham Regional Police Chief Peter Moreira told reporters Friday afternoon that both officers had been suspended with pay, following the SIU charges. He said the officers would be assigned to administrative duties “if and when” they are reinstated.
The Durham Regional Police Service is now required by law to oversee an internal investigation of the conduct of DRPS members involved in the incident and an examination of police internal procedures, he said.
Lawyers for officers speak out
In a statement on behalf of both officers on Friday, lawyers Lawrence Gridin and Sandy Khehra said: “The officers’ sole motivation was to save lives by alerting motorists and trying to stop a bandit who decided to put everyone in mortal danger. That bandit is the one responsible for the tragic outcome, not the police. These charges are wrong, and we intend to show that in court.”
Gridin, who is representing Flynn, said he “turned himself into the SIU” on Friday morning.
Khehra, who is representing Hamilton, said: “Regardless of the fact there are criminal charges, the traumatic impact of what happened that night will not be lost on my client. He and his family have been significantly impacted, whether or not the SIU charged him.”
Durham police say they have charged two officers in connection to a fatal multi-vehicle collision along Highway 401 last April. Speaking to media on Friday, Durham Regional Police Chief Peter Moreira says the incident has “profoundly” impacted the community.
Meanwhile, Moreira said he respected the SIU’s process and would now leave it to the justice system to determine whether the officers are criminally responsible for their actions during the police pursuit.
“We must guard against arriving at conclusions before all the evidence has been presented,” he said. “We owe this not just to the family of the deceased, but also to the officers who are involved.”
Moreira said he has reached out to the family of the grandparents and infant child who died in the collision to further express his condolences.
“Regardless of the results of the SIU investigation, this was a tragic and catastrophic event that resulted in the death of innocent lives, devastated the family and has profoundly impacted our community,” he said.
A high-speed pursuit into oncoming traffic
The charges stem from the crash on April 29, 2024 in Whitby, Ont., in which police officers chose to pursue a liquor store robbery suspect driving the wrong way on Highway 401.
Two grandparents, visiting from India, and their infant grandchild were among the four people killed. The parents of the child were injured in the collision, but survived.
The 21-year-old driver of the cargo van police were pursuing also died in the collision. The passenger of the van, Manpreet Gill, was not charged in connection with the deaths, but pleaded guilty to three separate charges in November, including theft under $5,000.
The SIU said last year its investigation focused on two police officers and whether it was necessary for Durham police to pursue the cargo van as it drove the wrong way down the busy highway.
In June, the SIU provided an update saying the two officers under investigation had not agreed to be interviewed or to provide their duty notes, as is allowed under Ontario’s Police Services Act.
In August, the watchdog, which is required to complete investigations within 120 days, decided to extend its investigation, citing the large volume of evidence being reviewed.
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police officers that may have resulted in death, injury or the discharge of a firearm, or led to allegations of sexual assault.
Charges are appropriate, says former SIU head
Former SIU director Howard Morton said in an interview Friday that he wasn’t surprised by the charges.
“There’s no way that this was necessary given what [the officers] had to do to pursue,” he said. “I just can’t imagine what they were thinking.”
He said the incident was a tragic reminder that police officers should not embark on high-speed chases “unless absolutely necessary.”
Moreira told reporters Friday that high-speed pursuits were already on the rise before the April 29 collision, as carjackings and auto thefts were increasing in number across the Greater Toronto Area. He said Durham police had planned to add a day of training in 2025 focusing on police vehicle operation in response.
Milica Maljkovic Birkett found herself in the middle of a police chase during her Monday commute. Dashcam video shows the van barrelling toward her as police followed on Highway 401 in Whitby.
But Patty Cevallos, who saw the collision closeup while driving with her husband, says the blame lies solely with the drivers of the van who first pulled into oncoming traffic.
“I think [the police] were doing their job,” she said Friday, adding she was angry when she heard the officers had been charged. “If anything, it was because we saw flashing lights that we knew something was going on.”
She says her husband slowed down and made his way closer to the shoulder when he first saw police lights, which allowed him to swerve out of the way when the cargo van got close. She says the van then swerved the other way into a transport truck, causing the deadly pileup.
