Demonstrator loses suit alleging police injured him

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit in which a man claimed he was injured while he was being arrested by three Ottawa police constables during a 2010 protest.

In his lawsuit, Ziad Chebib alleged the constables used excessive force and breached his rights, severely injuring his head, neck, shoulders and hands while the officers handcuffed him, put him in a police cruiser and placed him in a cell on May 17, 2010.

Chebib was demonstrating on a street in downtown Ottawa at the time of the arrest. He was protesting being deported back to Canada from Australia.

The lawsuit, initiated seven years ago, claimed more than $2 million in damages and named three constables, Const. Michael Deshaw, Const. Stephanie Andrascik and a third constable identified only as Const. Possami, as well as the Ottawa Police Services Board.

Chebib attracted attention in Australia and Canada in late 2009 after he launched a hunger strike to protest his deportation back to Canada following failed appeals to remain in Australia. Chebib, who was 55 at the time, was born in

Lebanon and grew up in Canada. In 1999, he moved from Calgary with his wife and four children to join his brothers and sisters in Melbourne, Australia. Chebib told reporters it would “tear apart” his family if he was forced to return to Canada.

Chebib was deported to Canada in February 2010. He was protesting outside the Australian High Commission on O’Connor Street when he was arrested.

In her decision, Justice Sally Gomery noted that Chebib, who did not have a lawyer, was a combative, evasive and unco-operative witness during examination for discovery. He also believed he was the victim of a vast conspiracy, but was unable to produce any evidence, she wrote in her decision.

When Chebib appeared in court, “he advanced wild theories about how the government, the police, defence counsel and a lawyer he previously retained had plotted against him,” Gomery wrote.

‘“Mr. Chebib contends that the defendants and others have tampered with the evidence, falsified records and engaged in various strategies to prevent him from obtaining justice.

“His arguments are incoherent, convoluted and do not bear serious

scrutiny. They are not based on any credible evidence or any credible theory.”

There was also no corroborating evidence that the officers’ actions caused Chebib’s alleged injuries, according to the decision.

Gomery noted that Chebib had ample time to mount his case, but had not produced any medical records or opinions or any other credible evidence to establish, on a balance of probabilities, that his alleged injuries were caused by the officers.

There was also evidence that Chebib’s alleged injuries were not caused by the arrest. After he was taken to hospital following his arrest, medical staff placed him in restraints for an hour due to combative and aggressive behaviour, said the decision. “After the restraints were removed, he rested for seven hours with no complaints, except for a sore shoulder, which Mr. Chebib apparently attributed to an old injury. During his examination for discovery, he admitted he had an existing rotator cuff injury prior to May 2010.” jlaucius@postmedia.com