A Prince Albert police officer who pleaded guilty to assault in 2010 was given an absolute discharge under section 730; subsection 1 of the criminal code.

In his decision, Judge Goliath wrote that it was clearly in the best interests of the accused to order a discharge.

“In my view, the public interest has been adequately served through the measures taken by the public complaints officials, the police, and the accused and by these proceedings,” wrote Goliath.

“I am not persuaded by anything in the cases submitted by counsel, in the circumstances of this case, to indicate that any further intervention is required. The accused is discharged absolutely.”

Officer Michael Ozar of the Prince Albert Police Service was visibly pleased with the decision as he smiled and gave a slight nod to his lawyer, Trevor Klassen.

When he left the courtroom, Ozar chose not to comment to members of the media, but Klassen briefly answered questions.

“He’s relieved that everything is done and certainly pleased with the decision from the judge,” said Klassen.

As to what sort of internal discipline Ozar will face from the department or when that hearing will take place that will be up to the Prince Albert Police Service.

The victim of the assault, Cheryl Morin, left the courthouse in tears and was clearly distraught.

“My family… told me to report it, so I reported it,” said Morin.

“Now it’s my fault, now I look like I’m the bad person. I’m not the bad person, but there are bad people out there.”

Christy Pannell was the prosecutor assigned to the case, and she was not surprised by the outcome.

“It was a hard decision for the judge, given all of the circumstances of these unique set of facts,” said Pannell.

“(But) it was an option that was available to the judge and we knew that’s what defence was seeking.”

There is no word on when Ozar will return to active duty.

Victim kicked in head by police officer

The Prince Albert provincial court heard submissions about Ozar and the circumstances around the incident.

The court heard that on Oct. 3, 2010, Cheryl Morin was kicked out of a bar in the city and police were called to the scene.

She was then brought to the police station for processing.

The court was able to watch the security video of the incident as it unfolded. In the video, a clearly intoxicated Morin could be seen being resistant to officers who were asking her to remove her shoes and submit to a search.

After repeatedly refusing to be searched, officers held her arms to her side while a female employee conducted the search.

While that was happening, Ozar opened a door to the room and was almost immediately spit on by Morin.

The officers holding Morin brought her to the ground while Ozar delivered one swift stomp of his foot to the area of Morin’s head.

During the court proceedings, prosecutor Christy Pannell said Morin had consumed between six and seven beers.

Pannell said that Morin admitted to spitting at Ozar, and also acknowledged that spitting at an officer was a form of assault.

“It is clear that the officer had an unlawful reaction… but it was a reaction to him being spit on,” she said.

However, she pointed out since officers were in an extreme position of trust, they needed to be held to an even higher standard and as such, Ozar should never have struck Morin.

“Police are the front line of justice and society expects them to behave as such.”

With files from paNOW's Andrew de Souza and Ragnar Haagen.

Edited by News Radio's Chris Morin.