Toronto police Const. Mark Kennedy, being tried for assault on
allegations that he broke a 61-year-old prisoner’s facial bone by kicking him
in the face, testified Tuesday that the kicking motion seen on a video outside
the man’s holding cell merely shows him “sweeping debris” with his foot. “It’s
moving sideways as it sweeps towards the door (of the cell),” he said of his
foot’s movement as his lawyer took him through a frame-by-frame analysis of the
video shot two years ago at the 51 Division police station. “The right foot comes
around and pushes the debris under the cell door,” said Kennedy. “I never
kicked Mr. Romanovitch.”
The 34-year-old crime analyst has pleaded not guilty to one count of
assault causing bodily harm. Now 63, Romanovitch is a drug addict with more
than 160 criminal convictions and a history of using aliases to avoid the law.
On the night of the incident, he was arrested on breaking and entering charges.
Romanovitch testified last week that he was having a diabetic seizure and
calling out for food when Kennedy approached his cell just before 11:30 p.m. on
Oct. 17, 2010. He said Kennedy told him to “shut up” and then kicked him in the
face through the gap under the cell door. He claims to have suffered a facial
bone fracture.
On Tuesday, Kennedy flatly denied any wrongdoing, and told Justice Diane
Oleskiw that he would never treat an inmate like that. “My job gets easier the
better I get along with prisoners,” he said. During cross-examination, Crown
prosecutor Peter Scrutton suggested Kennedy was frustrated by Romanovitch’s
yelling, and that he delivered the kick to make him quiet. “You’re angry he’s
making a racket. You walk out, you bend over, line up so you can see and kick
him in the face,” said Scrutton. “Absolutely not,” Kennedy responded. “I used
my foot to push the debris.”
When asked by Scrutton to specify what the debris was, Kennedy claimed
not to remember the incident exactly, but said it could have been anything from
a transparent piece of cellophane to “spit.” Defence lawyer Joanne Mulcahy
challenged the reliability of Romanovitch’s allegations, pointing out in her
questioning of Kennedy that the thin-framed cop with brown hair doesn’t match
Romanovitch’s description of the alleged assailant.
Kennedy also claimed he was no longer on shift when two officers visited
Romanovitch’s cell after 5 a.m. on the morning following the alleged incident.
Romanovitch testified that the person who kicked him was one of those officers.
Final submissions from both lawyers are scheduled for Wednesday (Oct. 24).
Metro News Canada
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