The Article
Officer guilty of beating Somali man
Incident caught on videotape showed police officer striking man
BETSY POWELLSTAFF REPORTER
Toronto police constable Roy Preston used “excessive force” when he punched a 22-year-old man in the face two years ago during a late-night fracas outside a west-end donut shop, an Ontario Court of Justice judge ruled today in finding the officer guilty of assault.
“I am very pleased for what happened here,” Said Jama Jama, the man who was punched, said this morning after Judge Peter Wilkie read his judgment in a Brampton courtroom.
“I’m glad that the judge believed my words…If I didn’t have the video, then things would be in a different situation.”
The videotaped beating occurred after a fight broke out in a parking lot.
Jama Jama, who was 21 at the time, said he was trying to break up the scuffle when police arrived.
An amateur videotape shot by Ottawa tourists showed Preston punching Jama Jama in the face without warning.
Jama Jama was initially charged with assaulting police and causing a disturbance, but those charges were later dropped after a Crown lawyer reviewed the video.
Jama Jama's lawyer had said his client could have been deported had he been convicted.<>With files from Canadian Press
Incident caught on videotape showed police officer striking man
BETSY POWELLSTAFF REPORTER
Toronto police constable Roy Preston used “excessive force” when he punched a 22-year-old man in the face two years ago during a late-night fracas outside a west-end donut shop, an Ontario Court of Justice judge ruled today in finding the officer guilty of assault.
“I am very pleased for what happened here,” Said Jama Jama, the man who was punched, said this morning after Judge Peter Wilkie read his judgment in a Brampton courtroom.
“I’m glad that the judge believed my words…If I didn’t have the video, then things would be in a different situation.”
The videotaped beating occurred after a fight broke out in a parking lot.
Jama Jama, who was 21 at the time, said he was trying to break up the scuffle when police arrived.
An amateur videotape shot by Ottawa tourists showed Preston punching Jama Jama in the face without warning.
Jama Jama was initially charged with assaulting police and causing a disturbance, but those charges were later dropped after a Crown lawyer reviewed the video.
Jama Jama's lawyer had said his client could have been deported had he been convicted.<>With files from Canadian Press
posted by Selam at 12:37 a.m.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home