Nearly a year after an Ontario judge called his assault on a young Black man a “shocking violation,” a Toronto police constable pleaded guilty to professional misconduct at a disciplinary tribunal Wednesday.Const. Joseph Dropuljic — an officer with nearly 20 years on the force — was given a conditional discharge for assault last August over the November 2015 incident in North York that left Kimani Wilson, then 23, with minor injuries, distrust in police and lingering psychological issues, according to an agreed statement of facts and the judge’s ruling.Dropuljic, 52, pleaded guilty to the criminal charge last year and, this week, to professional misconduct under Ontario’s Police Services Act.In his submissions on Dropuljic’s penalty this week, police prosecutor Jerry Leung called the assault “serious misconduct” that has impacted the reputation of the Toronto police. In a joint submission with Gary Clewley, Dropuljic’s lawyer, Leung asked the hearing officer to dock Dropuljic nine days’ pay.The officer’s encounter with Wilson first drew public attention in August 2017, when Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit — which probes deaths and injuries involving police — charged Dropuljic with assault. In a press conference one day later, Wilson said he was “haunted” by the incident, which “constantly plays over again in my mind.”“It’s a feeling you can’t explain, I would say helplessness,” he told reporters.The assault stemmed from a 911 call reporting gunshots in the area of Gracefield Ave. in North York. Police searched nearby homes, parks and schools looking for shell casings or suspicious people or cars, but found nothing.Acting on what Ontario Court Justice Paul Robertson called “entirely a hunch,” Dropuljic drove 1.4 kilometres west of the original 911 call to a housing co-op at 300 Queens Dr. that was “not u ...
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