Police officer suspended for 2005 fight

An Edmonton police officer who was involved in an off-duty fight on Whyte Avenue nearly five years ago was sentenced by a internal disciplinary hearing Tuesday to a 100-hour suspension without pay. 

Const. Mike Wasylyshen pleaded guilty to three counts of discreditable conduct in the fight in December 2005. In addition to the suspension, Wasylyshen will also receive a written reprimand.

The penalty was appropriate one, said Tony Simioni, president of the Edmonton Police Association. In April 2009, Wasylyshen was fined $500 for the same incident after pleading guilty to two counts of assault in Edmonton provincial court.

"He's been sentenced in the criminal court process. This is over and above that and it's a significant financial penalty and it's a significant embarrassment to this particular constable," Simioni said.

According to a statement of facts, Wasylyshen was "extremely intoxicated" when he left a Whyte Avenue bar with a group early on the morning of Dec. 18, 2005.

The group was trying to flag down a taxi. Devon Stacey, then 22, was also trying to hail a cab and said something to Wasylyshen.

Stacey, who was on crutches because of recent knee surgery, raised one crutch in the air to hail a cab.

Man on crutches called a 'cripple'

According to the document, Wasylyshen started yelling at Stacey, using "foul and inappropriate language," and called him "a cripple."

When Stacey started yelling back, Wasylyshen crossed the street and punched Stacey on the left ear.

Wasylyshen's friends tried to pull him away, but he broke away and continued punching Stacey. Stacey's friends threw Wasylyshen to the ground and punched him several times.

When two loss-prevention officers from a nearby 7-11 store tried to break up the fight, Wasylyshen threatened one and punched the other, document said.

During the hearing, Wasylyshen said he has since been diagnosed with alcoholism and has undergone treatment. He says he hasn't had a drink since the night of the fight.

Wasylyshen faces another disciplinary hearing later this year in an incident where a Taser stun gun was used repeatedly on an Edmonton teenager who was passed out in the back seat of a car.

Wasylyshen is the son of former Edmonton police chief Bob Wasylyshen and has been been a member of the force since 1999.