Police officers who claim they can’t believe a fellow officer squeezed the testicles of a motorist haven’t read the judgment finding him guilty of assault, a prosecutor says.

At the sentencing hearing Thursday for Const. Salameh Marji, Crown Attorney Ian Bulmer raised credibility issues with Marji’s testimony and argued that senior officers called to testify as character witnesses were biased in their glowing appraisal.

Marji was found guilty last year of one count of assault and one count of sexual assault stemming from the traffic stop and search of a 21-year-old driver on Sept. 2, 2009.

Evidence showed Marji punched the driver in the face and slammed his head on the police cruiser. He also grabbed the driver twice by the testicles and squeezed so hard as to elicit screams of pain.

The driver was suspected of being involved in drug activity because he was carrying two cellphones. It was later learned he was a cellphone sales representative.

Witnesses testified on Thursday that Marji was an elite officer and the informal leader on the TAVIS rapid-response team in rooting out drugs and guns in neighbourhoods.

“I don’t believe in my mind that he actually squeezed that man’s testicles,” Det. Mark Schueder told court. “I don’t believe that’s something he would do.”

Another witness, retired Staff Insp. Paul Crawford, said he found it “sad” that Marji was found guilty and stopped short of finding fault with Marji.

“Do I believe (Marji) did that? No. I accept the findings of guilt, but Sam Marji is not the kind of person who would do that. I can’t tell you definitively that I believe all the evidence.”

Bulmer suggested bias on the part of those witnesses who either had not read Justice Lucia Favret’s reasons for judgment or did not accept the trial evidence.

The day began with defence counsel David Butt making an application under the Canadian Charter of Rights, arguing that the case has not been tried within a reasonable time and that his client has suffered as a result.

Favret deferred ruling on this application.

In the application, Marji said that after the charges were laid he suffered mentally from the media attention as well as economically.

In an affidavit, he said he was relegated to administrative duties and lost $110,000 in pay over the last two years.

Because he was restricted to a Monday-to-Friday day shift, he was not eligible to collect extra pay for paid duty, off-duty work or court assignments.

Bulmer sharply questioned the $110,000 figure, and it wasn’t until further probing that Marji was able to provide an estimate of that breakdown from memory.

Marji also testified he has recently sought psychiatric counselling to deal with the stress. Bulmer questioned why it took so long to seek counselling.

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“The stress built up over time,” Marji responded.

Full submissions will be heard when the hearing resumes Tuesday. The victim’s name is protected under a court-enforced publication ban.