An incident in which an on-duty Toronto police sergeant assaulted a man in a Scarborough parking lot and then drove away, leaving the victim collapsed on the ground, came to light after an account from a bystander and Toronto Community Housing Corporation surveillance footage, according to recently filed court documents. Last week, Toronto police Sgt. Robert Goudie pleaded guilty to assaulting Hamza Sheikh, then 47, outside the man’s residence in October 2015, an incident that began with Goudie approaching Sheikh believing he had been driving while impaired.In January 2016, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) charged Goudie with assault causing bodily harm and failing to provide the necessities of life; the latter charge was dropped at the request of the Crown prosecutor, while Goudie pleaded guilty to assault.“The defendant’s application of force to Mr. Sheikh was unjustified and excessive,” reads an agreed statement of facts filed in court last week.The veteran police officer has been given a conditional discharge, meaning he is now subject to six months’ probation, which includes a ban on contacting Sheikh. He was also ordered to pay a $100 victim surcharge to Sheikh.Goudie has been suspended with pay from the Toronto Police Service since November 2015. Nonetheless, he made Ontario’s Sunshine List in 2016, earning $116,000.Meaghan Gray, a spokesperson for the Toronto Police, said in an email the suspension is under review now that the criminal case has concluded and the police service can proceed with a related disciplinary charge. Goudie faces one count of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act for being charged with a criminal offence.According to the description of facts filed in court, Goudie was alone on patrol just after 4 a.m. on Oct. 31, 2015, when he spotted Sheikh’s vehicle and believed he was an impaired driver. Goudie, driving a marked police vehicle, followed him into th ...
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