Bracebridge OPP officer headed to trial on assault charges for incident caught on camera
Warning: Readers may find details in this article disturbing.
Bracebridge OPP Const. Scott Anthony has hired Toronto defence lawyer Peter Brauti to defend him ahead of his assault case heading to trial.
Anthony faces allegations of violently beating a man in July 2022, an incident that was caught on surveillance camera.
The charges stem from an investigation by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) into the alleged assault on a 43-year-old man from Georgian Bay Township.
The SIU reported that two officers, including Anthony, responded to a break-in and trespass at the Canadian Pacific Railway yard in MacTier. When the officers arrived, they encountered a suspect who was subsequently arrested.
Security camera footage captured the incident, which appeared to show an officer using a stun gun on the man and kicking him in the head while he was on the ground.
The video appears to depict the man being subjected to multiple kicks, followed by the second officer administering another stun gun shock before the suspect is pulled along the ground by his feet with his hands restrained behind his back.
The suspect was hospitalized with serious injuries.
Anthony is charged with one count of assault causing bodily harm and one count of assault with a weapon.
According to the OPP, the other officer involved is no longer employed by the service.
Weeks before this incident, CTV News obtained video surveillance from inside a holding cell at the Bracebridge OPP detachment that appears to show Anthony striking a man in custody repeatedly.
After receiving the video last year, the SIU stated it had reopened that case and the investigation is ongoing..
Trial dates for the alleged assault in MacTier are anticipated to be scheduled next week.
The allegations against the officer have not been tested in court.
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