An Ottawa man testified Monday he obtained “a flurry of right-hand punches” to his face from an off-duty Windsor police officer in a bar toilet in 2023.
Donald Conner, a 45-year-old industrial insurance coverage dealer, was within the witness field on the primary day of the trial for Sgt. Deler Bal in Ottawa.
Bal has pleaded not responsible to two fees of assault and one depend of assault inflicting bodily hurt on the judge-alone trial within the Ontario Court docket of Justice.
Conner accuses the officer of assaulting him within the toilet on the Prohibition Public Home on the night of Sept. 23, 2023.
The altercation occurred at some point earlier than the Windsor Police Service posted a photograph on social media of a bunch of officers in Ottawa to watch the Canadian Police and Peace Officers’ Nationwide Memorial Day.
Conner testified he was assembly his girlfriend and her sister on the bar that night. He mentioned he shortly greeted them inside after which went straight to the toilet on the second flooring.
Whereas they had been additionally on the bar, his companion and her sister testified they did not see the altercation that led to the assault fees.
Interplay began at damaged toilet stall, courtroom advised
Conner mentioned he went to the stall, sat down and seen the locking mechanism was damaged, so he used his left hand to carry it closed.
Roughly a minute and a half after Conner entered the toilet, Bal could possibly be seen on surveilance footage carrying a hoodie and strolling in the identical space. That is when Bal tried to enter the one stall within the restroom, Conner mentioned.
“Whoa, I am in right here,” he testified he mentioned in that second.
“‘Then you need to discover ways to lock the door,'” Conner quoted Bal as saying in response.
After exiting the stall, Conner mentioned, he went to scrub his arms and seen Bal was on the urinal and on his telephone.
“‘I gotta go. Someone’s attempting to f–k with my name,'” Conner testified he heard Bal say out loud.
Conner mentioned he did not react or say something.
Then, Conner mentioned, Bal acknowledged, “‘Oh, you are the man who does not know methods to lock a door.'” Conner mentioned he then advised him the stall door was damaged in a joking method, and inspired Bal to go see for himself.
Man says accused gave ‘aggressive order’ to go away toilet
Based on Conner, Bal declined and mentioned, “‘You possibly can depart now'” whereas pointing on the door.
“It was an aggressive order,” mentioned Conner about Bal’s remark.
Conner testified he did not say something or make any gestures, aside from his eyes squinting in confusion.
“That second of confusion lasted half a second as a result of the following factor I knew, I used to be receiving a flurry of right-hand punches connecting with my head and face,” he mentioned.
Conner, who was 6 toes tall and roughly 240 kilos on the time, mentioned he by no means fought again through the altercation.
Bal’s defence lawyer identified his consumer was smaller in top and weight than Conner on the time.
Conner additionally mentioned he goes to the gymnasium twice per week and did “cardio boxing” greater than 10 years in the past that wasn’t for sparring.
Through the altercation, he testified, “I yelled at him to cease, cease, cease, and every time, progressively getting louder and louder whereas my arms had been up in entrance of my face attempting to restrict any of the harm that was coming my approach.
“My subsequent phrases had been, ‘I am not going to battle you,’ and as I mentioned that, it was just like the punches elevated in depth and velocity now that there was going to be no resistance.”
I had simply been attacked and it wasn’t provoked in any approach. And it wasn’t proper. – Donald Conner testifies at trial of off-duty Windsor police officer
When requested why he did not battle again, Conner mentioned he did not need to trigger bother in an institution he frequented and it was not one thing he wished to do as a 45-year-old man.
Through the altercation, which spanned a couple of minutes within the toilet, Conner mentioned he tried grabbing Bal’s elbows to maneuver him towards the wall so he might pass over the door.
He mentioned Bal’s again moved alongside the wall and shut off the lights, making a “pitch black” setting.
“I proceed to obtain punches, and once more I yell out, ‘Let it go. It is over. It is finished.'”
Conner made it out of the toilet and into the hallway, the place safety digicam footage exhibits Bal punching him within the head earlier than the altercation stops.
That was the final time Conner mentioned he noticed Bal and he had had no interactions with him previous to what occurred within the toilet.
Conner testified he left the bar feeling “scared,” went house and finally to the police station to file a report.
From there, Conner was taken to hospital, the place he mentioned he was advised he had two fractures, together with one in his sinuses.
“I had simply been attacked and it wasn’t provoked in any approach. And it wasn’t proper,” Conner testified about why he reported the incident to Ottawa police.
He mentioned they interviewed him in hospital and took photographs of his accidents together with footage of his arms, the following day.
Throughout cross-examination, Bal’s lawyer requested him in regards to the first interplay, when Bal tried to open the damaged stall.
“I might have favored to listen to I am sorry,” Conner testified.
When requested if Bal did apologize, Conner mentioned, “I am sorry, I can not bear in mind.”
The cross-examination will proceed Tuesday morning.
It is unclear if Bal will testify in his personal defence and what witnesses, if any, his lawyer intends to name to testify.
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