Fired officer acquitted of assaulting man at processing centre

Recently fired Calgary police officer Dave Pizzolato has been cleared of allegations he unlawfully assaulted a belligerent drunk at the arrest processing unit almost four years ago.

Provincial court Judge Gordon Yake said Pizzolato used reasonable force when he punched Darren Eckson three times after using a controlled takedown to bring the suspect to the ground.

Yake said Pizzolato’s conduct was reasonable because Eckson, 61, had spat on him and the then-constable had reason to believe he would continue to be violent.

“Const. Pizzolato reasonably believed he had to act to defend himself from further assault by Mr. Eckson,” Yake said in acquitting the veteran officer of common assault.

The judge noted Pizzolato did not attempt to injure Eckson when he punched him three times in the hip area.

“They were not directed at Mr. Eckson’s head, or any vital area of his body.”

Pizzolato was charged in connection with the March 24, 2016, incident after an investigation.

Yake agreed with defence lawyer Don Macleod the officer was entitled to use force to subdue as a policeman and also act in self-defence.

Pizzolato was fired earlier this year for discreditable conduct and insubordination after behaving in an “exploitative and predatory” manner with a vulnerable young woman who had recently attempted suicide.

In the penalty decision by retired Calgary police superintendent Paul Manuel, the former senior officer said 22-year veteran Pizzolato was fired in September after being found guilty of two counts of misconduct.

According to the document, Pizzolato went to the victim’s home in June 2016 to check on a welfare complaint. The woman had tried to kill herself and was admitted to a mental health unit where she stayed for four days.

Shortly after leaving the woman at the hospital, Pizzolato began texting her from his personal cellphone. Hospital staff were made aware of the conversation, reviewed the content and called the police after deeming them inappropriate. In the provided text messages, Pizzolato does not provide any community resource information, despite using that claim to initiate contact.

However, Pizzolato and the woman continued to text. When she was released, Pizzolato showed up at her house in his personal vehicle. They went for ice cream.

Later, the woman told officials she “was scared about what he might do to her as similar things have happened to her in the past” and didn’t know what to do.

Approximately 75 to 100 text messages were sent between them. At the time, Pizzolato was 48 and the victim, 22.

Const. Pizzolato reasonably believed he had to act to defend himself from further assault.