

Diana Mehta, The Canadian Press





TORONTO -- A Toronto police officer accused of being unnecessarily violent during the arrest of a man six years ago was found not guilty of assault Wednesday after a judge was left with a reasonable doubt that the force used during the incident was excessive.

Const. Christian Dobbs had pleaded not guilty to assault causing bodily harm in relation to the April 2010 arrest of Toronto chef Raymond Costain. During the officer's trial, the charge was downgraded to simple assault.

Dobbs was charged after an investigation by the province's police watchdog into Costain's violent arrest, which took place outside a hotel in downtown Toronto and was partially captured on police cruiser videos.

While Justice Bonnie Croll, who presided over the case, noted that the videos were "shocking," she found they didn't tell a complete story.

"The optics of the force used by officer Dobbs is not good and can trigger a visceral reaction that the aggression was unnecessary," Croll said before noting the footage was "inconclusive" on Costain's own actions.

"The videos in this case provide only half the picture."

The trial heard that Costain suffered head injuries that included black eyes, a bloody nose and abrasion on his forehead.

The 33-year-old told the court he had been working at an event before his arrest, had a few drinks and had been driving on a highway when he was hit by another car, with his own vehicle suffering significant damage.

Costain testified that his phone battery died before he could call 911 so he got off the highway and continued driving towards his girlfriend's house when at one point someone knocked on his car window, but he ignored them -- court heard it had been a police officer.

Costain said he then noticed he was being pursued by police so he eventually parked his car and was about to hail a cab outside a hotel when he was approached by Dobbs and his partner.

Dobbs testified that he had been told Costain had attempted to run over a police officer, and was concerned that the man might have a weapon.

He told the court that Costain -- who is a large man -- did not get down on the ground when commanded to do so, which is why he applied force to gain control of the situation.

Dobbs also testified that Costain continued to try to pull his arms away while attempts were made to handcuff him, so Dobbs hit him 12 times.

Croll found that while Costain's arrest was legal, she had to decide whether the force used by Dobbs was excessive.

She found Costain's evidence to be unreliable, noting a number of inconsistencies, and said the entire incident had to be viewed in context, despite the disturbing nature of the video in the case.

"To engage in freeze frame second by second reconstruction is to engage in the reflective hindsight of Monday morning quarter backing of police conduct that courts have cautioned against," she said.

"In these circumstances the officers cannot be expected to measure the force used with exactitude."

While it may be that the force used was excessive, the Crown had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, Croll concluded.