Toronto officer charged with assaulting prisoner

all credits: National Post
published: 7th April 2011

A Toronto police officer has been charged with assaulting a prisoner at 51 Division last year. Constable Mark Kennedy was arrested Thursday in relation to injuries sustained last October by a 61-year-old man, who was being held at the time in a police cell. The provincial Special Investigations Unit, which probes in-custody deaths or serious injuries, said the charge against Const. Kennedy “stems from an interaction” between the two men.

“The man who was in custody in a police cell at 51 Division sustained a fracture during the encounter,” the SIU said in a news release. Const. Kennedy, who faces one charge of assault causing bodily harm, is scheduled to appear in court on May 26.

“As this matter is now before the courts, and in consideration of the fair trial interests of the charged officer and the community, the SIU will make no further comment pertaining to this investigation,” the SIU said.

Const. Kennedy is just one of several Toronto Police Service officers charged in recent weeks. Late last month, Constable Robert Harris was charged with careless use of a firearm after allegedly discharging two rounds while attempting to arrest a man for dangerous driving.

The same day, rookie Constable Brandon Fraser was charged with sexual assault and other sex-related offences concerning boys aged 14 and 16.

And next month, Constable Babak Andalib-Goortani, who stands charged with two separate assaults stemming from last summer’s G20 summit, returns to court.

On Tuesday, Detective Christopher Higgins was sentenced to 90 days in jail for fracturing the arm of a drug suspect in custody in 2004.

Posted by Gaynor Kuye on 10/04/2011. Filed under Police Brutality & Killings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry