The province's special investigations unit and Toronto Police are having a public spat over a complaint against the service.

The director of the SIU is blasting Toronto Police for not cooperating in an investigation.

The SIU was investigating the injuries sustained by 27-year-old Tyrone Phillips last July. He was arrested outside a nightclub.

Phillips filed a complaint with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director saying he was beaten into unconsciousness during the arrest.

The complaint was referred to Toronto Police, and then to the SIU.

In its investigation, the SIU tried to retrieve a copy of Phillips' statement, but director Ian Scott says Toronto Police declined to provide a copy of the complaint.

The SIU says the OIPRD also declined to produce a copy of the complaint, saying they have a policy of only sharing information with the affected police service.

In a statement, Scott says the Toronto Police Service may be breaching its duty to fully co-operate with the SIU.

"This has led to the almost comical situation of the SIU as the designated lead investigative agency under the Police Services Act not having a copy of a material statement when the policing agency under investigation and the subject officer do have a copy," Scott says.

In response, Toronto Police say in a statement that Scott "is wrong."

"The document in question belongs to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director," Toronto Police say in a statement. "We are not allowed to release a document which belongs to someone else without their express permission. If Mr. Scott wants that document, he must get it from the OIPRD."