Halifax police officer accused of assaulting homeless man says victim hit him first
Const. Gary Basso accused of breaking Patrice Simard's nose during altercation at Metro Turning Point shelter
A Halifax police officer accused of assaulting a homeless man last February testified Friday that Patrice Simard punched him in the right thigh during an altercation.
Const. Gary Basso, 38, is being tried before a provincial court judge on charges of assault causing bodily harm and public mischief.
Basso told the court he was responding to an "unwanted person" call from the Metro Turning Point shelter when he encountered Simard, who was drinking outside the facility.
He tried to get the man to leave but Simard said he wanted to be arrested and put in the drunk tank in order to escape the cold.
When Basso refused, the man said he would not leave the shelter.
Police officer says he was struck first
Basso testified he reached out to grab the man's backpack and pull him up to his feet, but Simard dropped all his weight to his ground.
While trying to get the man to stand, "Simard punched me in the right thigh," the officer said.
He admitted he then punched the man in the face "to stop any threat from Mr. Simard." He described it as a "hard strike" using the heel of his hand.
Basso said he told the man he was under arrest for assaulting an officer and handcuffed him. Simard was taken to cells at Halifax police headquarters.
Basso didn't expect to be charged for his actions that night.
"It was a non-event for me. It was over and done with," he said Friday afternoon in court.
He said he offered his notes from the evening to investigators and even volunteered to take a polygraph test.
"I didn't feel the SIRT [Serious Incident Response Team] investigator believed my version of events," Basso said.
"You're grasping at straws to do anything to clear your name."
He said he believed he would pass the polygraph.
Breach of trust charge dropped
Earlier in the day, Judge Laurel Halfpenny-MacQuarrie dismissed a breach of trust charge against the officer. She ordered a directed verdict of not guilty on that charge, as requested by the defence.
A surveillance video showed at the trial, which began in November, showed Simard, from behind, kneeling with Basso facing the camera.
Simard appears motionless after he is seen being struck by Basso's right hand. Basso testified that as he tried to handcuff him, Simard was trying to tug his arm away and that he never lost consciousness. Simard was arrested for assaulting a police officer and taken to the police station.
Simard, who was 54 at the time of the incident, has multiple previous convictions, court heard.
Man suffered broken nose
Simard testified after he was released from jail, he spent four days in a shelter he built in a wooded area near Bayers Lake, before returning to Metro Turning Point to collect items from a locker.
This police photo is from the Cst Basso trial. Patrice Simard, the alleged assault victim, photographed on March 5, 8 days after the incident at Metro Turning Point. The crown says the black eye is from being punched by Basso. Defence suggests Simard fell and hurt himself. <a href="https://t.co/UGCTSqMOHk">pic.twitter.com/UGCTSqMOHk</a>
—@ChiuCBCThe man then went to a hospital, as he was continuing to experience pain in his head, and tests determined he had a broken nose.
The matter was referred to the province's Serious Incident Response Team for investigation March 4. The independent agency that investigates allegations of serious wrongdoing against police announced in April that it had charged Basso.
The police officer was suspended from his job as a patrol officer in March.