Four women, Chadd Facey’s world, took the witness stand one after the other to try to explain the magnitude of his loss.
“This loss is not just a wound, it’s a hole,” the teen’s middle sister Nicole Hutton said of her “baby” brother who was the “light” of their family.
“We deserved more time with him. I will never stop mourning Chadd.”
Facey, 19, died of a brain bleed hours after he was tackled by an off-duty 海角社区官网Police officer in April 2021.
Superior Court Judge Jennifer Woollcombe earlier found Const. Calvin Au guilty of assault, not responsible for his death. Au accompanied his colleague 鈥 both off-duty 鈥 to a Kijiji sale for an Apple watch. When the officers realized the device was a fake, they chased after him, Au tackling the teen to the ground in a suburban park in Brampton.
Facey’s mother and three sisters read victim impact statements at a sentencing hearing in a second-floor Brampton courtroom on Monday morning, at times wiping away tears, about the little brother they’d always dreamed of 鈥 the boy whose hair they braided, who they prepared turkey sandwiches for, and who they tried to protect.
His sudden death left his family reeling, with COVID-19 restrictions keeping them out of the hospital and limiting the number of people who could attend his burial.
Facey 鈥 the youngest of four, his mother鈥檚 only son, and uncle to two young girls 鈥 was a psychology student who was an aspiring hip hop artist under the name DPA Face.
Fay Fagan told the court she had a “funny” feeling in her stomach the day of the assault. Sitting at the family’s dining room table, she waited for a text back that wouldn’t come.
Facey was brought into the house, clearly suffering, with a bruise on his forehead.
“This was traumatizing to watch but I felt the need to help him so I remained calm,” Fagan said. He was taken to hospital, where he died.
“Chadd was assaulted not by a random act of violence but an individual in a position of trust and authority,鈥 his mother said.
She continued: 鈥淥ur faith in the system that (is) supposed to uphold justice and accountability has been shaken.鈥
She talked about watching her son’s casket being lowered into the ground, as she was made to stand at a distance, and visiting her son’s grave every day. She addressed Au directly, as the officer, in a dark suit, looked forward, completely still, throughout the statements.
“We want to tell his story and we seek change because no mother should have to endure what I鈥檝e gone through.”
The Special Investigations Unit, which investigates all incidents of serious injury and death involving police, charged the officer with manslaughter and aggravated assault, taking over an investigation from Peel police.
Two weeks before the trial was set to begin, the charges were downgraded to just one count of assault causing bodily harm.
Woollcombe previously said she found Au鈥檚 explanation for why he tackled Facey 鈥渦nreliable鈥 and 鈥渂izarre鈥 and that the force he used against the teen was unreasonable.
But the judge said while it was 鈥渓ikely鈥 Facey鈥檚 forehead was bruised as a result of being tackled by Au, she could not definitely, beyond a reasonable doubt, rule out it had been caused earlier or after the incident.
Facey’s sisters echoed a loss of trust in and fear of the police, condemning incidents of brutality on young Black men.
“Please aid in breaking the cycle,” Tanisha Hutton, his oldest sister told the judge. “I leave the sentencing in your capable hands.”
They spoke of having to be medicated, of receiving counselling and missing or losing work as they grieved their brother’s loss. They described a pain that does not end.
“What we seek now is accountability,”聽Facey’s youngest sister, Renae Facey, said.聽“My brother mattered. His life mattered.”聽
鈥淢y brother should still be here today.”
With files from Wendy Gillis
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