Indigenous man 'disgusted' no jail time proposed for Hamilton police officer who assaulted him

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

A Hamilton police officer who has admitted to assaulting an Indigenous man during an arrest should not serve time in jail, both the Crown and defence said in court Friday. 

At the first day of the sentencing hearing for acting Sgt. Brian Wren, his defence lawyer Bernard Cummins and Crown attorney Richard Garwood-Jones recommended Wren serve 18 months of probation. 

"It's a difficult case and some might say the position is charitable," Garwood-Jones told the court. "But that is the position that was taken and I will leave it at that." 

Wren, both lawyers and Ontario Court Justice Bruce Pugsley weren't in the courtroom, but spoke over Zoom. 

The victim, Patrick Tomchuk, was there along with family and supporters. Tomchuk wiped tears away throughout the proceedings.

Afterwards, Tomchuck expressed his frustration to reporters that Wren likely wouldn't face jail time.

"I feel disgusted," Tomchuk said. "If I was to assault somebody … I'm going to jail."

'Grotesque violence'

Wren assaulted Tomchuk during an arrest last May. 

Wren had identified a stolen pick-up truck Tomchuk was driving and followed him to the gas station, Garwood-Jones told the court in February. As Tomchuk was pumping gas at a station on the Mountain, plain clothed officers swarmed him. 

A witness's video was previously played in court. It showed Tomchuk trying to hold on to the truck as officers wrestled him to the ground. 

Tomchuk appeared to be unconscious as Wren used his foot to strike the back of Tomchuk's head about nine times. Wren then used his foot to hit Tomchuk four times in the face and stepped on Tomchuk's head again.

Wren ended up going to the hospital because he broke his toe. 

Tomchuk was also taken to hospital, assessed and then taken to the police station to face a range of charges including resisting arrest and for vehicle theft. Those charges were stayed on May 29.

"What Brian Wren did was not policing and had no other gain other than harming Patrick Tomchuk," Garwood-Jones said on Friday. 

"It's grotesque violence."

Accused apologizes to Tomchuk

Defence lawyer Cummins argued some of the Crown's assertions about how the assault unfolded were based on "pure speculation" and no specific injury could be attributed to Wren. However, Garwood-Jones said it was clear from the video that Wren did cause Tomchuk's injuries.

As a police officer, Wren was acting in good faith and is traumatized by the events, Cummins said. He has done 100 hours in community service since the incident. 

In a rare move, Wren addressed the court Friday. He acknowledged his actions didn't align with police training but were instead a "reaction from fear" as he knew of Tomchuk's criminal record and suspected there might be a shotgun in the truck. No gun was found.

"I was scared for myself, scared for the community, and I was also scared for my co-workers," Wren said. "Just out of pure reaction, I went a little too far." 

He apologized to Tomchuk, the Indigenous community and police.

Wren's defence previously said Wren is Indigenous and requested a Gladue report be prepared. 

Gladue principles require circumstances in an Indigenous person's life to be taken into consideration during sentencing. 

Aboriginal Legal Services declined Wren's request for the report due to lack of evidence of his Indigenous identity, the court heard. However, Justice Pugsley said he'd still take into consideration that Wren identifies as part of the Métis community when determining his sentence. 

Deep impact on the Indigenous community

Indigenous court worker Jessica Montana read a victim impact statement on behalf of the local Indigenous community. She said they weren't aware of Wren's Indigenous background until it was brought up at a recent hearing.

She said the assault has harmed not only Tomchuk, but the wider Indigenous community as well.

"The violent assault of one of our relatives and community members has a deep, emotional impact on us," Montana said. "It reinforces fear and distrust of police." 

The Crown is requesting Wren receive a suspended sentence, which means no jail time but the assault charge will be on his criminal record. The defence is pushing for a conditional discharge, which also means no jail time and he won't have a criminal record.

Justice Pugsley will make the decision at a later date, which has yet to be set.