Fired Saskatoon cop Jarett Gelowitz not guilty of assault; union wants him back on force

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• Judge decries any 'rush to judgment' on fired Saskatoon cop 'in or out of a courtroom'

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A Saskatoon police officer has been found not guilty of assault in connection to a 2016 on-dutyarrest.

On Wednesday morning, Justice Richard Danyliuk summarized a 50-page written decision on the assault charge against JarettGelowitz, saying the case hinged on whether or not Gelowitz used excessive force.

The trial heard about Gelowitz's arrest of Kehler Bear following a high-speed chase back in December 2016. Both legal teams agreed Gelowitz delivered a series of punches, kicks and knee strikes to Bear.

Danyliuk noted how officers used different techniques to try to stop the vehicle they were pursuing, saying "by definition" the chase was a dangerous situation.

"Officers were now thinking on the fly," he told a Court of Queen's Bench gallery in Saskatoon.

Danyliuk said the person driving the car, Bear, was not co-operating with police and did not put his hands up, but the main question is whether or not Gelowitz went too far in applying force.

Citing previous cases, Danyliuk said force must be no more necessary to protect oneself or to subdue the suspect.

He said size, strength, gender and age of those involved must all be considered when asking if this was an instance where force was excessive.

Danyliuk said he was satisfied other officers who testified were telling the truth, saying there was "no thin blue line."

He said the testimony of an expert witness and the video of the arrest were key in his ruling.

He also determined it was clear that Bear was resisting if it took four officers to remove him from the vehicle.

Watch video of the arrest below.

Saskatoon court views video of police with alleged assault victim

6 years ago

Duration 0:41

Video showing a man who was allegedly assaulted after a lengthy police chase in Saskatoon was shown in Saskatoon QB court on Monday.

Gelowitz's defence attorneyBrad Mitchellhad argued his clientacted reasonably in a dangerous and urgent situation, whileCrown prosecutor Jennifer Schmidt said that Gelowitz'sfinal knee strike to Bear was completely unnecessary.

Callfor his reinstatement

A hearing to potentially determine if Gelowitz future with the police forceis set to take place in September.

After the judge's decision, the Saskatoon Police Association, the union for local officers, called on Police Chief Troy Cooper to reinstateGelowitzas soon as possible.

"Cst. Gelowitz has endured very difficult circumstances after being accused of two common assaults and one aggravated assault while on duty and prior to any due process, was dismissed by the police service," according to a statement the association sent CBC News.

The union says it feels reinstatement is only the first step police should take in compensating the former police officer, as the union will argue he should receive back pay since his dismissal and legal fees incurred by the police association should be repaid.

Police chief responds

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Cooper said, "The decision to dismiss the former constable was based on unsuitability for service and not based on criminal proceedings."

According to the police association, Gelowitz'sfiringcame after he received three internal complaints while he was demoted to desk duty in the wake of the assault charges. Those complaints"could be anything from being discourteous to making a mistake on a report," a union spokesperson previously told CBC News.

"There remain matters under The Police Act ... whichstill have to be resolved and we must let that process take place," Cooper said of the upcoming September hearing into Gelowitz's conduct.

The decision to fire Gelowitz before his court process was completed instead of suspending him with pay was criticized Wednesday by the president of the Canadian Police Association.

Two other assault charges against Gelowitz have failed to be proven in court. One was stayed whilethe other was dropped by Crown prosecutors.