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While at the hospital, the man — identified only as “D.C.” during the hearing — “was disruptive, yelled obscenities and was belligerent towards hospital staff,” the police hearing heard.

Thomson went into the hospital room and told the man to be quiet, but the man continued to yell. Thomson then hit the man in the neck and choked him in front of the second officer and the man’s cousin.

Once released from hospital, the man contacted the Ottawa Police Service to complain about the officer’s actions. He also filed a complaint with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, a civilian police watchdog.

Hearing officer Supt. Chris Renwick, in a decision released on May 24, said “it is essential to the public’s trust and confidence in their police that all persons who are in police custody, despite their attitude or behaviour, will be treated fairly, impartially, and with due care, including restricting use of force to the level absolutely necessary to gain compliance.”

Renwick called Thomson’s use of force “excessive and unnecessary … and a breach of the expectation of care that the public demands from its police, requiring discipline and corrective action to assure the public that the police are accountable.”

Renwick also found “the choice of striking the neck and choking” to be “concerning in itself.”

Though Thomson has pleaded guilty, Renwick found the officer “clearly recognized his misconduct and took concrete corrective steps.”

“He committed to being cooperative during the internal investigation, self-registered and self-expensed a court approved anger management workshop, and self-attended an OPS de-escalating training session.”

Thomson has also apologized to the man he choked and has registered for the next available emotional intelligence class run by the force.

The officer must complete that class before Oct. 31.

syogaretnam@postmedia.com

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