The Toronto Police Association are demanding answers from all levels of government after a repeat violent offender with a warrant for his arrest and a deportation order injured three police officers.
According to a news release from the Toronto Police Services, police responded to a call for a break-in in progress around 12 p.m on Friday in the Caledonia Road and Rogers Road area. Three officers sustained minor injuries. The officers are recovering.
Joao Pedro Da Silva Cordeiro, 30, was charged with two counts of assaulting a peace officer, two counts of assaulting a public officer causing bodily harm, two counts of assault with intent to resist arrest and one count of failing to attend court.
Cordeiro attended the Ontario Court of Justice on Saturday.
According to the TPS report, the suspect was wanted on a bench warrant for failing to attend court on previous charges of theft under $5000, assault with intent to resist arrest, assault with a weapon, two counts of assaulting an officer, and two counts of failure to comply with a release order.
In an interview, John Reid, the president of TPA, told True North that Cordeiro came to Canada on a work or study visa and overstayed his allowable time, which resulted in an “open removal” order from the Canadian Border Services Agency.
According to TPA, he faces “at least 17 charges involving two jurisdictions,” while CBSA has ordered his removal from the country.
“On behalf of our members and the public, we are asking all levels of government to stop pointing fingers and explain why this man was still in Canada and why he was not in custody,” the TPA call to action said.
“These rather mundane situations can turn into very violent situations,” Reid told True North in an interview. “These are the jobs which the men and women do every day. But in this particular instance, I would argue that officers didn’t need to ever be hurt here. This individual should have been held in custody, as he’s not even supposed to be here in Canada.”
Reid said it happens all too often that violent offenders are out on bail and put the public and police officers at risk.
“We have people charged with violent criminal offences, and then they released back into the community on bail quite frequently, unfortunately,” he said. “Everyone has the right to bail, but when we have individuals that prove that they have a propensity for violence and a propensity to ignore the orders given by the court, those individuals should not be granted bail.”
