THUNDER BAY - A Thunder Bay Police Service officer has been found guilty of assault causing bodily harm for punching a 60-year-old man detained under the Mental Health Act in the face.
Justice O’Mara found Const. Ryan Dougherty guilty last week following a five-day trial in July.
During the trial, evidence detailed that in November 2022 the complainant was detained by the Thunder Bay Police Service under the Mental Health Act and transported to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
The complainant left the hospital without permission and Dougherty, who was there on an unrelated matter, found him on Oliver Road not far away.
When Dougherty tried to apprehend the complainant, a struggle ensued and Dougherty punched him four times in the head.
The complainant returned to the hospital the next day and was diagnosed with a fractured nose and concussion.
Both Dougherty and the complainant testified during the trial, providing differing accounts of what took place on the side of Oliver Road that night.
Dougherty testified the complainant continued to resist while he was attempting to detain him and he became panicked and afraid for his safety.
The complainant said he complied with Dougherty’s orders to raise his hands and put them on the hood of his car but was then punched in the face and knocked to the ground.
Dougherty did not turn on his body-worn camera prior to the interaction with the complainant, but he was heard saying to the complainant that he did punch him in the head on the video recording from inside the police cruiser after the complainant was in custody.
The case has been adjourned to October 7 to set a date for a sentencing hearing. Dougherty is still employed by the Thunder Bay Police Service and is currently on administrative duties.
Dougherty is the second Thunder Bay Police Service officer in the last year to be found guilty of assault causing bodily harm.
Last September, Const. Andrew Frankow was found guilty of the charge for punching an intoxicated Indigenous man in the face inside a bus shelter in April 2022. Frankow is still awaiting sentencing.
