Toronto Cop Sentenced To 9 Months For Beating Black Man And Rupturing His Eye
An off-duty Toronto police officer convicted for the brutal assault of a young black man has been given a 9-month jail sentence.
Dafonte Miller was with his friends, Bradley Goode and Antonio Jack when they were confronted by Michael, who was off-duty, and his brother, Christian Theriault. Theriault beat Miller with a three-foot-long metal pipe, ruptured his eye, and placed him in handcuffs on the ground. Miller has lost his left eye as a result. The brothers claim they acted in self-defense.
RELATED: UPDATE: NYPD Officer Placed On Desk Duty After Viral Video Shows Him Beating A Bystander
Ontario Superior Court Justice Joseph Di Luca said that the sentence was justifiable,
“These are offenses that shatter a community’s trust in the system,” he said. “They serve as a constant reminder of the presence of systemic racism. They prevent the healing that is required to move forward because they demonstrate that true equality is not yet within reach.”
“This is not a case where in the course of self-defense, an accused simply went too far,” Di Luca added. “This is a case where after any reasonable, possible threat had abated, the accused armed himself with a weapon and struck the injured and retreating victim.”
Dafonte’s life has changed significantly since the assault.
“Since the assault, I have become withdrawn and have isolated myself from my friends and family,” he wrote. “The assault has robbed me of the simple joys of life. I have not been able to gain meaningful employment or go back to school.”