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A judge has found an Edmonton police officer guilty of assaulting a homeless man, delivering a decision that rebuked the officer, his partner, and the police service’s internal investigations branch.

Provincial court Judge T.D. DePoe convicted Const. Matthew O’Mara of one count of assault Monday related to the officer’s December 2017 arrest of Craig Jephtas-Crail.

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Court heard O’Mara took down Jephtas-Crail — who was homeless and struggling with addiction at the time — after ordering him to leave a 7-Eleven. Once on the ground, O’Mara punched Jephtas-Crail twice in the head. Employees in nearby Bar Bricco witnessed the incident and reported it to police.

After Jephtas-Crail’s arrest, O’Mara and his partner drove him to an unknown location in the river valley, where he was let out of the police car. Jephtas-Crail testified one of the officers threw a bag of his belongings out of the car after him. The car’s internal GPS system was switched off at the time, for reasons that remain unclear.