As Rami Al-Saedi sat in the courtroom in February during his sentencing hearing, he looked out at a group of Grade 12 students watching in the gallery and decided he had something to say.

He had already pleaded guilty to personating a police officer and simple possession of cocaine. But at this point, the hearing took “a somewhat unusual trajectory,” wrote Ontario Court Justice Melvyn Green — the 27-year-old declined to address the court but asked if he could say something to the high school students in the courtroom.

Al-Saedi shifted the lecturn to face the students. “So you guys heard what happened to me,” he began. “I wish I could go back to that night and do everything differently, but the (fact of the matter) is that I can’t. And I can regret it, but at the same time, I learned a lesson. Look at me and take me as a lesson. If it would help you down the line to not make mistakes.”

Al-Saedi’s speech urging the class to make the right choices made an impact, not only on the students but on Green as well, prompting him to comment in his sentencing decision on Al-Saedi’s “abject humiliation” and on the “heartfelt nature” of his remorse.

“His statement also eloquently speaks to the offender’s insight . . . and deep appreciation of the harm he risked not only to his personal prospects but to his family and the public as well,” Green wrote, attaching a copy of the speech in his decision.

Green gave Al-Saedi a conditional discharge, and cited Al-Saedi’s expression of remorse as part of the reason he did so.

On Sept. 6, 2015, Al-Saedi was arguing with a bouncer trying to kick him out of a bar in downtown Toronto. He then called 911, said he was an undercover officer who was being assaulted during a drug investigation and asked for backup.

Officers from all over 52 Division responded to the scene, where they found Al-Saedi fighting with security. Police discovered he wasn’t an officer, found about a gram of cocaine in his possession, and arrested him.

Al-Saedi pleaded guilty to impersonating a police officer and possession of cocaine.

“That night was a wakeup call that changed my life,” Al-Saedi told the Star.

While he was sitting in the courtroom, Al-Saedi said he wanted to explain what he learned from the experience so the students wouldn’t repeat his mistakes.

“Honestly, everything is a coincidence in life and this might not be a coincidence that the day that I’m going to take the plea there’s a class in court,” he said at the time.

“So honestly, you guys have to look at the big picture, always, and make sure you think about whatever you want to do twice. And if you’re angry, count to ten. And if you’re mad, walk away. Just respect, respect the people that serve us.”

In his sentencing decision, Green wrote “a conditional discharge affirms Al-Saedi’s expressions of remorse, through both speech and conduct, in securing the sentencing objectives.”

He also wrote that falsely representing a police officer, while a serious offence, “appears to be more of an offence of intoxication-fueled public mischief than one of deliberate exploitation or corruption.”

Al-Saedi says he is grateful for everyone that helped his case along the way, including his lawyer Riaz Timol, who helped him connect with Habitat for Humanity, an organization he regularly volunteers with.

“I just wanted to tell them there are simple choices – knowing your limits, who to spend time with – that they can make,” he said. “You don’t want to go through what I went through.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

He’s currently working as a project manager for a construction company, and hopes to one day own his own enterprise.

“Obviously I regret everything that happened,” he said. “But it really changed my life. It changed me as a person.”