GTA father describes 'mixed emotions' as disciplinary hearing begins over son's unlawful arrest

A GTA father saysit felt like an emotional roller coaster as a Peel police disciplinary hearing got underway on Monday for anofficer accused of racism after arresting his son two years ago.

Bashar Masad a Mississauga resident filed a complaint against Const. Bernard Trlaja after his son Massod Masad was arrested in November 2018.

The Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) later found that the arrest was unlawful, and that Trlaja engaged in discreditable conduct.

"We got an apology letter, one for me and my wife and one for my son from officer Trlaja," Masad told CBC News after the hearing.

He saidTrlaja read the letters aloud in the Peel police hearing.

"He directed his words to me and he read the apology letter. So this was at least a relief somehow," he said.

"Listening to the apology letter really, it's like mixed emotions."

But Masadsaid even while listening to the apology, he recalled that a mere five minutes earlier, there was atape playing about what happened in the police cruiser.

"Humiliation and profanity and racism," he said.

The tape he's referring to was recorded just after his son's arrest. The audio recording of the November 2018 incident that was accidentally captured on Massod Masad's phone contained proof of the officer's misconduct.

"It's painful to listen to it anytime now, before, while I was making my submission," he said.

"It's painful [even though] it's been, like, two years.Every time you listen to it you feel sad that it happened."

Trlaja who has been an officer with Peel police since December 2002 has also written an apology to Peel police.

Bancroft Wright, spokesperson for Peel Regional Police, told CBC News in an email that there are no formal findings of misconduct on Trlaja's record.

WATCH| A GTA father has'mixed emotions' about a police disciplinary hearing after the unlawful arrest of his son:

2020-1109-5226

4 years ago

Duration 2:21

GTA father describes 'mixed emotions' as disciplinary hearing begins.

On the day of the incident, Masad said Peel police officers came to his home and arrested his son for causing a disturbance.

At Monday's hearing, a recording of the first call that police received about an alleged altercation at a restaurant was also played.

Masood Masad, who was 25 at the time, was arrested after the alleged altercation at the restaurant where he was picking up an order for the delivery service DoorDash.

Police were called by the restaurant owners.

"It was very disturbing. The caller who is the owner of the restaurant used prejudice," Masad said, adding that the caller told police his son was Jordanian, while also using racist language.

"Being an immigrant himself, saying something like that, it's very unacceptable, very unacceptable."

Charges against Masood Masad were later dropped, and his family asked the OIPRD to investigate the arrest.

The OIPRD determined that Trlaja was responsible for two types of misconduct: unlawful arrest and discreditable conduct.

In the disciplinary hearing at Peel Police headquarters, the charge of unlawful arrest was withdrawn and Trlaja pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct, his lawyer, Joanne Mulcahy.told CBC News in an email.

Masad said his family's decision to pursue the matter was not to hurt Trlaja.

"I really don't want to hurt any human being, regardless of what they did to us, especially [since] that officer did apologize and we do accept his apology," Masad said.

"We're all human beings, he did something wrong, he apologized. At least he had the courage to come and apologize," he added.

"Many people would not. Many people would not look you in the eyes and apologize to you for something they did."

The Masadfamily has been asking for an apology from Peel police since the incident happened, butWright said: "Itwould be inappropriate for the Chief to make any comment in this regard pending the conclusion of this disciplinary process."

The hearing continues on Tuesday.