What Really Happened to Dafonte Miller

I have to say, I’ve been closely following the trial of police officer Michael Theriault and his brother Christian, in the assault of Dafonte Miller. For those who don’t know, Dafonte Miller is the young black man who was 19 years old and the time of the attack in December 2016 in the Toronto suburb of Whitby. From the outset this incident caused a potpourri of emotion from anger to sadness that this young black teenager was beaten so severely, he lost his right eye. The senselessness of it all was what struck a chord. Being the father of a black teenaged son, who lives one town over from where this took place, I couldn’t help but think of how I would feel if that were my son who was attacked for no other reason than walking down the street late at night and being approached by an off duty police officer and his brother out to provoke some sort of violent encounter.

For those of you outside of the Toronto area who have no knowledge of the incident, several things about this case stink of police corruption. In the province of Ontario, we have the SIU (Special Investigations Unit). They are an independent (excuse me while I laugh hysterically) body who are called to investigate whenever somebody has been killed or seriously injured during an interaction with the police. In this case, they were not called Two different police forces failed to contact the SIU – Durham Region and Toronto Police, even though Michael Theriault clearly identified himself as an off-duty Toronto cop. It wasn’t until several months after the incident took place, while Miller himself was facing an assault charge from the incident that his lawyer contacted the SIU, who then began their investigation – months after the incident took place. Oh, and did I mention the fact Constable Theriault’s father is also a police officer and a long serving member of the Professional Standards Unit (internal affairs) – the very unit tasked with contacting the SIU when the need arises. So we can reasonably deduct from all of this, the police at the scene were involved in a cover up and then when the file landed on Constable Theriault’s daddy’s desk, he promptly shelved it and then went to take care of more pressing issues – like sourcing fresher donuts and hotter coffee!

All that being said, I’m a bit disturbed and troubled by what I’ve heard so far in the trial. Yesterday especially provoked some eyebrow raising moments. The two friends of Dafonte Miller who were with him at the time of the incident, took the stand and gave their version of events. And you would swear they were at two different incidents. Their accounts were totally contradictory to each other. And that’s the first problem, when you have an incident such as this you at least expect the victim’s friends to back him up if he is indeed telling the truth. If your two eyewitnesses tell two totally different accounts of what happened – then……….one of them is lying!

And first up on the witness stand we have Bradley Goode. He testified that he, Dafonte Miller and a third friend, Antonio Jack, were ‘car hopping’. Basically, they were breaking into cars and stealing anything valuable they came across. According to Goode, they had already broken into ten to fifteen cars that night before they got to the vehicle at the Theriault’s house. They attempted to break into a pickup truck in the Theriault’s driveway and that’s when all hell broke loose. Constable Theriault and his brother were alerted to the possible theft of their family’s vehicle and tore out of the house after the perpetrators. Goode and Jack ran in one direction, Miller in the other. The Theriault brothers caught up to Miller, and we know how that story ended. So that’s the account of Bradley Goode.

Next up, we have Antonio Jack. This might be a good time to mention that Mr. Jack was brought over to testify from prison where he is currently doing time for illegal possession of a firearm. Therefore, if we’re going to bring someone’s character into play…………. he’s not a good, law abiding citizen. Let’s not sugar-coat it.  Mr. Jack testified that he, Bradley Goode and Dafonte Miller were simply on their way to purchase marijuana when they were accosted by the Theriault brothers and that’s when the proverbial shit hit the fan.

And therein lies my dilemma. Because I’ll be honest. If this turns out to be a case in which Bradley Goode’s testimony is more reflective of the truth, I’ll be pissed! For me this totally changes the complete dynamic of this case. It will no longer be a case of an innocent young black teenager, minding his own business and getting brutally beaten for doing absolutely nothing. Instead, it will be a case of somebody out for no good and getting caught and getting what some people would call……………justice. Now this doesn’t negate the fact a police cover up took place. Proper procedures were not followed and for that, the police should be punished. But I remember my vehicle getting broken into once. I immediately felt violated. Then, I wanted to seriously damage the people responsible. In my case, the perpetrators weren’t caught, and nothing of value was taken.

But if Bradley Goode’s testimony is a true reflection of what actually happened to Dafonte Miller. Maybe this young man just learned a brutal lesson about what happens when you mess with people’s property.

But I’m jumping to conclusions. Currently we don’t know what really happened. Bradley Goode could be lying his ass off or could have been threatened by the police. Today, Dafonte Miller takes the stand and I’m waiting to hear what he has to say. I’m hoping this young man adds some clarity to what exactly happened that December night, three years ago. Time will tell!