Final submissions have been made in the trial of two Belleville police officers involved in the arrest of a man who suffered injuries inside a Taco Bell in November 2019.
The arrest was made following an off-duty investigation by Constable Paul Fyke into a stolen drink from the former Lowe’s location on Millennium Parkway.
The investigation led to the arrest of Mario Baptiste Jr. inside Taco Bell located on North Front Street.
Baptiste Jr. passed out during the arrest. When Baptiste Jr. arrived in hospital, he was found to have suffered a broken rib and a broken right finger.
Constables Fyke and Jeffrey Smith were each charged with assault causing bodily harm.
Constable Kyle Dodds had also faced a similar charge but Crown Prosecutor Ian Bulmer withdrew the charge before the trial began.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit did not begin an investigation until 13 months after the incident occurred.
A civil lawsuit has also been filed by Baptiste Jr surrounding the incident. Baptiste Jr. is suing the Belleville Police Service, former Chief of Police Ron Gignac, and Constables Paul Fyke, Jeff Smith, Kyle Dodds and Jill McAuley.
During final submissions on Thursday, Crown Prosecutor Ian Bulmer alleged that the reason for Baptiste Jr. passing out during the arrest was due to a neck restraint applied by Constable Fyke.
He also argued that the broken rib was due to the foot of Constable Smith being kicked into Baptiste Jr. during the arrest and that the broken fingert came from Constable Dobbs after adjusting his positioning during the take-down of Baptiste Jr.
Bulmer says these add up to an excessive use of force during the arrest and called the arrest an assault.
The defence lawyer for Constable Smith, Harry Black, argued that there was no law that prevented an officer from using that kind of neck restraint in an arrest and questioned whether the kick caused the fractured rib, theorizing that the injury may have come from the use of Heimlich maneuver while Baptiste Jr. was passed out.
Kimberley Miles, the lawyer for Constable Fyke, argued against the description of excessive use of force stating that there was no evidence of an intent to have Baptiste Jr. lose consciousness or suffer an injury.
Both sides also argued on the credibility of their representing sides’ testimony.
The defence argued on the credibility of Constable Fyke and his testimony while the Crown questioned the credibility of Baptiste Jr. and his account of events.
Justice Patrick Hurley says his ruling will come before the end of the year with a potential judgement date for December 8.