The latest investigation of a Hamilton cop who has faced serious criminal and disciplinary charges in the past has ended without charges being laid.

Constable Ryan Tocher was under investigation by Hamilton police after a car crashed into a hydro pole on Sept. 1 at 1:45 a.m., leaving 5,000 Binbrook residents without power. The Hamilton Police Association says the investigation is now closed and Tocher is not charged.

A former Peel Regional Police officer who joined Hamilton in 2007, Tocher has become notorious for shooting and killing two people and mistakenly beating another in three separate on-duty incidents. He is the only Hamilton cop to be investigated three times by the province's Special Investigations Unit.

In each matter, Tocher, 38, was eventually exonerated.

In September, Hamilton police released some basic information about the Binbrook crash but made no mention of Tocher's involvement.

In December, The Spectator broke the story that Tocher was again under investigation.

Gary Clewley, who has represented Tocher through all of his criminal and disciplinary matters, previously confirmed his client was the subject of an investigation into the crash and told The Spectator the law allows "six months from the date of the incident" for a Police Services Act charge to be laid. The deadline, by that measure, was Saturday.

In April 2007, Tocher fatally shot Soun Saing after Saing assaulted a billiards hall owner. He was brandishing an axe and a knife when Tocher and another cop arrived. He lunged at the officers, both fired and Saing was hit by two bullets. The SIU cleared Tocher of any wrongdoing.

In May 2010, Tocher beat Po La Hay during a drug raid at a wrong apartment. La Hay, a slight man who spoke little English, did not respond quickly to commands. He was kicked and punched by police, suffering cuts to his face and fractured ribs and vertebrae.

Tocher was criminally charged by the SIU but was found not guilty by a judge. Police Services Act charges were then dropped.

In February 2012, Tocher shot and killed Phonesay Chanthachack. Chanthachack was driving a stolen van and was wanted on an arrest warrant for failing to appear in court on a number of non-violent charges, including break-and-enter and theft. He drove at Tocher, who fired at the moving vehicle, striking the wanted man's arm and back, according to evidence at a coroner's inquest.

Tocher was again cleared by the SIU. As a result of a recommendation stemming from the coroner's inquest into Chanthachack's death, the Hamilton Police Service now forbids officers from shooting at moving vehicles.

Earlier this week, The Spectator reported Tocher is one of a number of police defendants being sued for more than $4 million by Chanthachack's family.

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Among the unproven lawsuit allegations is that the Hamilton Police Service "failed to properly screen Tocher to ensure that he was psychologically and emotionally competent to carry out his tasks as a police officer" and "they allowed Tocher to participate in the surveillance and apprehension of Phonesay when they knew or ought to have known that he had a propensity to use excessive force and posed a danger to Phonesay."

La Hay settled out of court after filing a $2.5-million lawsuit against Tocher and the police service.