A veteran Guelph police officer says PTSD was to blame for his 2016 assault on a 17-year-old youth who was handcuffed to a hospital bed at the time.
That PTSD was primarily caused by the death of a fellow police officer in 2013, a Guelph court heard Thursday.
Const. Corey McArthur delivered a vicious elbow to the upper body and head of the teen on Sept. 19, 2016, in a safe room in the Guelph General Hospital emergency department.
The blow resulted in a 3.5 centimetre cut below the victim’s eye that required stitches.
His lawyer states the blow was an overreaction and hyper-vigilance caused by PTSD.
The assault came immediately after the youth kneed McArthur in the midsection as he and another officer attempted to restrain the victim further to stop him from injuring himself.
Charges were laid after hospital staff reviewed video of the incident and notified police.
Originally charged with assault causing bodily harm, McArthur later pled guilty to simple assault.
He appeared in court Thursday for submissions prior to sentencing, which will take place Sept. 27.
The prosecution is seeking a suspended sentence with probation, which would leave McArthur with a criminal record.
The defence is seeking a conditional discharge with probation, which, if McArthur stayed out of trouble for three years, would leave him with no criminal record.
Separate professional charges under the Police Services Act are possible.
Defence council Joseph Markson told the court that McArthur, 41, a 17-year-veteran of the Guelph Police Service, was suffering from undiagnosed and untreated PTSD at the time of the incident.
“The illness clouded his perceptions, judgements and actions,” Markson said.
Markson said that PTSD stemmed primarily from the death of Const. Jennifer Kovach in 2013.
Kovach was responding to a call for assistance made by McArthur when she lost control of her police cruiser and slammed into a bus on Imperial Road.
Markson said McArthur was overcome with guilt.
“He felt considerable guilt because he had requested assistance,” Markson said. “He was profoundly affected by officer Kovach’s death.”
He said McArthur saw Kovach as “a little sister.”
McArthur, who has been on medical leave, has received counselling which led to the PTSD diagnosis.
Often reading from medical reports, Markson said the PTSD led to McArthur becoming “increasingly irritable and aggressive in situations he felt a police officer was being attacked.”
“He acted too quickly and with too much force,” Markson admitted, but said it was an instinctive reaction by someone experiencing “hyper-vigilance” and “super awareness” caused by the PTSD.
“The line between police conduct and criminal conduct is sometimes very thin,” Markson said.
The defence lawyer said McArthur shouldn’t be scarred with a criminal conviction.
Prosecutor Michael Carnegie called the incident “cringe-worthy” after video of the incident was shown in court.
“The public expects that when an individual is placed in police custody, that, however difficult, that individual will be kept safe,” Carnegie said.
“The public will and ought to have a concern,” said Carnegie, who called the assault “beyond the pale.”
Carnegie said the real issue is “public interest.”
McArthur, supported in the courtroom by family and several fellow officers, declined to speak when given the opportunity by the judge.
Thursday was the first time details of the assault have been heard in public.
The 17-year-old victim, whose identity is protected by court order, had been brought to Guelph General Hospital on a mental health call after indicating he wanted to hurt himself.
When his behaviour became erratic, and he attempted to injure himself by hitting himself in the face and cutting himself with a piece of rigid plastic, he was handcuffed to the hospital bed.
The youth then slammed his head against the metal rails of the bed four times, at which point McArthur and another officer attempted further restraint, which is when the person kneed McArthur, who responded with the elbow strike.
This is the third time McArthur has faced assault charges.
The officer was found guilty in 2010 and was given an unconditional discharge.
In 2014 he was charged with assault causing bodily harm, but that charge was later withdrawn.
There was no victim impact statement Thursday and the victim has been uncooperative in the case, court was told.
