Former Regina police officer awaits sentence

REGINA — A judge is expected to deliver a decision Friday on the sentence to be served by a former city police officer convicted of assaulting an intoxicated man while on duty.

Robert Kenneth Power, 41, was found guilty last month of assault causing bodily harm for a May 2012 dust-up with a 44-year-old man.

Power and numerous supporters joined the Crown and defence lawyers at Regina provincial court for sentencing submissions Wednesday.

If Judge Doug Kovatch endorses either the Crown or defence positions, Power won’t serve any jail time. Crown prosecutor Bill Burge asked for a suspended sentence, while defence lawyer Aaron Fox said his client hopes for a discharge.

Court heard Power has no prior criminal record, nor any prior disciplinary issues on his work record.

Power testified at trial that he acted in self-defence when he pushed the man, who was challenging him to fight and had approached with raised fists.

In his January decision, Kovatch found otherwise, basing his guilty verdict in part on a video from the detox facility where the incident happened.

Kovatch said the video revealed the man had approached the officer, but with his hands at his sides, and that Power responded by kicking him in the abdomen or chest.

The man was knocked backwards and hit his head. Power called for an ambulance, and the man was discharged from hospital later that day.

Kovatch found that Power’s actions constituted recklessness and excessive force, stating that “a fairly minimal level of force by Const. Power was all that was reasonable and justifiable in the circumstances.”

Burge argued the amount of force Power used and the position of trust he held as a police officer makes a discharge inappropriate.

Power, a member of the Regina Police Service since 2007, was fired following the incident but has appealed the decision. A hearing is set for March.