Toronto cop demoted for ignoring domestic violence call before woman's death

A Toronto officer will receive a reduction in rank for his misconduct after failing to properly investigate and report a call for help in a domestic violence case from 2022, where a woman was shot and killed only 72 hours later.

On Tuesday, a Toronto police tribunal ruled that Const. Anson Alfonso will receive a reduction of rank from first-class constable to second-class constable for 18 months for his actions before the killing of 23-year-old Daniella Mallia.

Alfonso, who also pleaded guilty to one count of misconduct and was found guilty of insubordination at the end of April, can return to his previous rank upon a positive annual evaluation from his unit commander, according to the decision document.

Mallia was found shot in an underground garage in Toronto on Aug. 18, 2022.

She had called police three days before her death to report that her ex-boyfriend Dylon Dowman had been threatening and harassing her in text messages following their breakup, according to police documents.

In February, Dowman was found guilty of first-degree murder and received an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Domestic violence call

According to the statement of facts, Alfonso was working in a uniform capacity at 32 Division on Aug. 15, 2022 when he and his partner, Const. Sang Youb Lee, responded to a call about a domestic incident that was captured on body-worn camera footage.

Mallia told the officers her ex-boyfriend had been harassing and threatening her in text messages. She expressed to them that she was "really shaky and jittery," according to the documents.

The documents say that Alfonso saw some of the messages between Dowman and Mallia and that many of the messages from Dowman were "threatening in nature," including one text message that threatened Mallia with death.

Yet, Alfonso and Lee spoke with her for about 39 minutes and "considered the case to be a 'he said, she said,'" according to the documents.

Alfonso also cautioned Mallia that she could be charged with an offence if she was not truthful when providing the information.

Alfonso contacted Dowman to ask him to stop contacting Mallia and asked him to call the police if she contacted him again, so that officers could investigate her for harassment.

According to police documents, that conversation lasted three minutes. 

Three days later, Dowman pulled Mallia into a North York underground parking garage and, after she begged for her life, shot her in the head.

Police documents say Alfonso, the more senior officer, had misunderstood the evidence and, as a result, failed to identify that this was an intimate partner violence call and take the corresponding required action, even though he and Lee had grounds to arrest Dowman for uttering threats. 

In July 2023, Lee pleaded guilty to neglect of duty and was demoted by one rank for one year.

Toronto police Supt. Shane Branton wrote in his decision that Alfonso failed to comply with his training and obligations as a police officer and to properly assess and reassess the situation. 

In doing so, he violated the public's trust, which is an "aggravating factor," said Branton. 

"Constable Alfonso made a choice to not address an intimate partner violence call in a manner in line with his training and responsibilities as a police officer," Branton wrote in his decision.

"The complainant had the courage to call the police for help, but she was not proved [sic] with the help that she needed and deserved."