Ottawa police Const. Goran Beric denies striking man with baton during 2021 takedown as assault trial resumes

The charge was laid in April 2022 by the Waterloo Regional Police Service after the file was transferred from the Ottawa police professional standards section.

Published Aug 09, 2023 • Last updated 36 minutes ago • 4 minute read

The assault charges laid against Ottawa Police Service Const. Goarn Beric relate to a takedown inside an Ottawa Community Housing complex on Aug. 4, 2021. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Const. Goran Beric’s assault trial resumed this week as the Ottawa patrol officer denied striking a man in the head with his baton and said he put his boot on the man’s head in an attempt to avoid the blood spraying from the screaming man’s mouth.

Beric has pleaded not guilty to assault while on duty and assault with a weapon during a violent takedown inside a downtown Ottawa Community Housing complex on Aug. 4, 2021.

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His trial has already heard that police encountered a bleeding, screaming man — identified in court as Derrick Weyman — cowering inside a bathroom in the rooming house before he allegedly “took a swing” at responding officers.

Beric was charged in April 2022 by the Waterloo Regional Police Service after the file was transferred from the Ottawa police professional standards section.

Waterloo-based Crown Counsel Vlatko Karadzic opened the prosecution against Beric in May with a 39-minute composite video taken from two CCTV cameras inside the building.

The video showed Beric with four other uniformed officers and two security guards positioned in the hallway as the injured Weyman entered the camera’s view and appeared to be staggering while “slurring and swearing” at police.

Beric is seen on video striking his foot out at Weyman, who blocks the kick before he is thrown to the floor by Const. Steve Dorken, who testified earlier at trial.

“He makes a lunge at me, and I thought he was going to spit at me,” Beric testified as his trial resumed Tuesday following a months-long pause.

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The trial, which was halted after running over its allotted time in May, is being heard in-person only at the Ottawa courthouse.

Beric is seen on video struggling to restrain Weyman and stepping on the side of Weyman’s head and neck. He does not relent for two minutes seven seconds as Weyman’s body goes limp. Officers check his pulse and proceed to handcuff him while awaiting paramedics.

Under questioning from defence lawyer Karin Stein on Tuesday, Beric said he had no concerns that Weyman had lost consciousness.

“I could hear him talking the entire time. The same obscenities, swearing at everybody, threats,” Beric said. “I believed he was having a psychotic break.”

Beric testified he became “physically exerted” during the struggle and called out for help from other officers standing nearby on three different occasions, but received no assistance.

“I realize we’re in it now … We’re the only people who are going to get control over (Weyman) … Const. Dorken and myself,” Beric testified.

“It got to the point where I got so physically exerted, I’m wearing a mask, I’m constantly getting exposure to the blood, and I remember thinking to myself, ‘OK, enough is enough. I need to take a breath.’

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“So I stood up and, simultaneously, that’s when I put my foot on (Weyman) to turn his cheek away from spitting at me. I went to a standing position, and that was the first time I was able to get a good breath.”

Beric said his mask was covered in Weyman’s blood during the struggle and he had concerns about COVID-19 and potential blood-borne diseases.

Beric had “no other options,” he testified, when he decided to use his boot.

“It was quick, my heel was touching the ground, and the tip of my boot is what I used to turn him away from spraying at me,” he testified. “I know my heel was on the floor because I need to keep balance. I’m not going to put my entire foot on his face or his neck.”

Beric said he didn’t want to use his free hand because of a prior policing experience where his finger was “almost bitten off,” he said.

“The way he’s screaming, with the blood in his mouth, I didn’t want to put my hands anywhere near his face. I still had the Asp (baton) in my hand and didn’t want to use that near his face, and I had no other options,” Beric said. “That was just kind of the final instinct to get him to stop so I could get a breath.”

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When asked by Stein why he kept his foot on Weyman’s neck for more than two minutes, Beric replied, “It was the only thing that was working.

“You can’t see it (in the video), but he’s still kicking at Const. Dorken. I can see that I’m not cutting off (Weyman’s) airway. He’s still speaking. I’m not causing any damage or pain to him. It’s working as a way to hold him in place.”

Beric was also confronted with testimony from Crown witnesses who said they saw Beric strike Weyman’s head with his baton, which forms the basis of the charge for assault with a weapon.

“One hundred per cent absolutely not,” Beric testified. “No, I’m not striking him. I’ve seen the video several times now. I know that I wasn’t striking him. When I look at the video, I know I’m moving quickly because I don’t want him to grab the Asp … I don’t even see contact made with his body. It’s just movement.”

Beric said the only time his baton made contact with Weyman’s head was during the initial encounter in the bathroom, which was not captured on video.

Weyman “took a swing” at Dorken, according to prior testimony, and Beric intervened before the two officers led Weyman into the hallway and into camera view. Beric admitted he gave Weyman a “tap” on the head to get his attention.

“In the initial (encounter), there was that one tap — that’s it. I tap, I search and I disengage,” Beric testified. “It wasn’t harmful to him, it wouldn’t have caused him injury. It was just enough to get his attention.”

The trial continues.

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