Sergeant who assaulted intoxicated Niagara Falls man granted discharge

A Niagara police sergeant who used excessive force when arresting an extremely intoxicated man with HIV and hepatitis who had a reputation for spitting at police when impaired has been granted a conditional discharge.

“Police misconduct undermines the bond that should exist between the public and the police,” Judge Fergus O’Donnell said Wednesday during the sentencing hearing for Sgt. Michael Baxter in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines.

A conditional discharge means there is no conviction registered against the officer.

If he fails to meet the conditions of the discharge — in Baxter’s case he was placed on probation for 18 months and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service — then the discharge could be revoked.

The 19-year veteran of the force was found guilty of assault causing bodily harm following a trial last fall.

The judge ruled the 42-yearold’s use of force to subdue an intoxicated man in Niagara Falls was “unnecessary, disproportionate and unlawful.”

At trial, court heard the victim, a suspect in an assault investigation, suffered a severe facial laceration on Aug. 16, 2016, after Baxter employed a “grounding” technique to subdue him behind a Thorold Stone Road plaza. The technique involves pivoting a suspect and placing him face down on the ground.

Baxter testified he lost his grip, causing the man to fall face first to the pavement.

The judge said the officer’s use of force was not motivated by malice, however, his actions were still unlawful.

O’Donnell described the victim, a 53-year-old Niagara Falls man, as a vulnerable person yet “eternally annoying.”

The man has a lengthy criminal record and has had more than 300 separate dealings with police within a 10-year period.

“(He) is amicable when sober but when intoxicated he is annoying, obnoxious and aggressive,” the judge said.

Baxter has been on administrative duties since his arrest, which his lawyer said has prevented him from working overtime and seeking promotions.

Defence lawyer Joseph Markson estimated that limitation cost his client $75,000 in lost wages.

The judge said he was “uncomfortable” with the defendant’s calculations as no financial documents were filed to support the claim.

The Special Investigation’s Unit, Ontario’s police watchdog agency, laid the criminal charge against Baxter following an investigation. The SIU is an arm’slength agency that investigates any incident involving police where there has been death, serious injury or an allegation of sexual assault.

Baxter also faces a discreditable conduct charge under the Police Services Act in connection to the incident.