Canadian justice found guilty, Friday, June 26, a white Toronto police officer for beating and stabbing a young black man in 2016; a widely followed judgment in Canada in the midst of a debate on systemic racism in the police.
Michael Theriault, a Toronto police officer who was not on duty at the time of the events, accompanied by his brother Christian, was found guilty of aggravated assault by a judge of the Ontario Superior Court for assault Dafonte Miller and in particular with a metal pipe. Christian Theriault has been released.
He pleads self defense
Dafonte Miller, then 19, lost use of his left eye following the assault on December 28, 2016. The two men, accused of aggravated assault and obstruction of justice, pleaded not guilty and claimed to have acted in self-defense. According to the defense, Mr. Miller was robbing cars before the altercation.
This judgment was rendered in the context of demonstrations denouncing racism and police violence, as part of the vast protest movement caused by the death of the African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis (Minnesota), an American city a few hundred of kilometers from Canada. A hearing scheduled for July 15 will determine Michael Theriault's sentence.
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