Durham police Chief Paul Martin announced Monday a new policy to ensure Ontario’s police watchdog is called in to investigate serious injuries caused by an officer in his region — regardless of whether the cop was from his force or off duty.

The move comes in the wake of criticism over his force’s handling of what he calls the “disturbing” alleged assault on a Black teen by a Toronto cop in Whitby.

“There may be criticism about what we are doing. That’s OK,” Martin said in a statement, which he read out at the civilian police board meeting in Whitby.

“We’re not doing it to be popular. We are doing it because it is the right thing to do for our community.”

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Calling the status quo “inadequate,” Martin said the new policy dictates that if a cop from another service is involved in an interaction in which a civilian was seriously injured, Durham will call in the watchdog — despite that task technically falling to the officer’s employer.

“Let me be absolutely clear: From here on in, if a conflict between one of our citizens and a police officer takes place in our community, and the incident meets the criteria for calling in the (SIU), then I will do so,” Martin said. Up to 2,000 officers from other Ontario police services are believed to live in the Durham area.

Martin said in cases where it’s not clear whether the injuries are severe enough to trigger the SIU’s mandate — the watchdog investigates only those injuries it deems serious — he will err on the side of caution and notify the watchdog regardless.

Durham’s move comes amid controversy over police handling of the beating of 19-year-old Dafonte Miller, who is alleged to have been beaten by off-duty Toronto police officer Michael Theriault and his brother, Christian Theriault, in December. The teen suffered injuries, including such severe damage to an eye it will have to be surgically removed.

Demonstrators protested outside an Oshawa courthouse where a pre-trial hearing was being held for a Toronto police officer and his brother who are charged in assaulting Dafonte Miller. The brothers, Const. Michael Theriault and Christian Theriault, did not appear in person at the on Sept. 7 hearing. (Wendy Gillis/Toronto S`

Both Theriaults are charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in connection to Miller’s injuries. They also both face public mischief charges for allegedly misleading investigators on the day of the incident.

The criminal charges against the Theriault brothers were laid in July, eight months after the alleged assault. The delay was the result of both Toronto and Durham police failing to notify the SIU of Miller’s injuries.

The police watchdog was notified of Miller’s injuries in April, only after the SIU was informed by Miller’s lawyer, Julian Falconer.

Martin explained that Durham did not notify the SIU because it was Toronto’s job to do as Theriault’s employer, a decision he says was in line with established procedures but that failed to “ensure the public trust.”

In fact, on the night of the incident, Durham investigators charged Miller with assault with a weapon, theft under $5,000 and possession of a small amount of marijuana, charges later withdrawn by the Crown.

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders has said that Toronto police did not contact the SIU because they did not believe there were grounds to do so because they understood that Michael Theriault had not identified himself as a police officer. (The SIU typically only investigates off-duty police officers if they invoke their status as officers during an interaction that resulted in serious injury, death, or allegations of sexual assault.)

Falconer, however, alleges Michael Theriault identified himself as a police officer when he asked what Miller and his friends were doing right before the brothers’ alleged beating of Miller.

In an interview Monday, Falconer said he was pleased by Martin’s change in policy, calling it an acknowledgement of the “serious disservice and injustice suffered by Dafonte at the hands of Durham police.”

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But he noted it did not explain why, on the night of the incident, Durham officers “blindly accepted” the Theriault brothers’ version of events and charged Miller. That includes what Falconer alleges was Durham police’s failure to interview two witnesses about how Miller came to be injured. “Something was seriously rotten in this case,” Falconer said.

Martin said he could not comment on the specifics of the incident because of the ongoing court case.

Durham is believed to be the first police service to formally develop a procedure to notify the SIU about cases involving a police officer from another service, Martin told reporters Monday. The chief said he has informed other police chiefs in the province and acknowledged there “may be criticism.”

Joe Couto, a spokesperson for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, said Martin briefed its president, Waterloo police chief Bryan Larkin, on the new policy and said it will be discussed at an executive meeting next week.

Couto noted that new provincial legislation expected this fall — stemming from the review on police oversight by Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch — “will help our services be effective and consistent in dealing with these types of unfortunate incidents.”

Among Tulloch’s recommendations is that the province clarify the rules around when police services must notify the SIU and officers’ duty to co-operate with the investigation.

“So the real need here is for the province to clarify so we can better serve,” Couto said.

Asked if Saunders would consider adopting Durham’s police policy in Toronto, spokesperson Mark Pugash said the chief “will consider anything that enhances transparency and accountability.”

Toronto police chair Andy Pringle told the Star on Monday that he’d already asked Saunders to adopt a similar procedure, a request made “almost right away” upon learning about the Miller case. Pringle said any time there’s doubt about whether the SIU should be called in, he believes Toronto should “just do it.”

Pringle said the ball is now in Saunders’s court and “it’s up to him to come back with a policy.”

“I don’t know when he’s going to come back, maybe at the next board meeting — I haven’t asked him when he’s going to come back on that,” Pringle said Monday.

Asked about the status of the independent review of Toronto police actions in the case, Pringle told the Star that the Waterloo Regional Police — called in to perform the mandatory internal review conducted after every SIU investigation — has been temporarily stopped.

Instead, Pringle said the Ministry of the Attorney General recently called Saunders asking him to “put that on hold, because they want to take it over.”

Pringle said he doesn’t know how this development will affect the time frame on the internal review, the results of which are supposed to be brought to the police board within 30 days of the SIU notifying Toronto of the results of its probe.

No further information about the ministry investigation was available by deadline Monday night.