Man police officers punched and arrested in 2011 hopes hearing brings justice

Five years after he was assaulted and arrested by two Toronto police officers in a confrontation caught on video, a 20-year-old manhopes a police disciplinary hearing will bring him the justice he's been seeking.

On November 21, 2011, the man, then 15-years old, his twin brotherand two of their friends, aged 15 and 16, were heading over to a neighbourhood mentorship program after dinner in Lawrence Heights, where theylived.

All four are black.

Two Toronto police officers, Constable AdamLourencoand ConstableSharnalPais,drove up in an unmarked car.

"They came out very aggressively. They stopped us, and they kind of boxed us, one came in front of us and one came behind us," the young man told CBC Toronto's Dwight Drummondin an interview.

Exercising his rights

The man, who cannot be identified because he was underage at the time of his arrest, says he knew his rights.

He had participated in an Ontario Justice Education Network program that educates young people about their rights and how to comport themselves in a police encounter.

That night, he says, he asked one of the officersif he and his friendswere under arrest.

"He said, 'No.' So then I decided to exercise my right and leave," the young man said."That's when Officer Lourenco decided to single me out and physically attacked me. He grabbed me. Then isolated me. He swore at me and said a lot of provocative things to try to aggravate me and I didn't respond."

About a minute and a half after the teens werestopped, a Toronto Community Housing security video shows one of the officers hit theteen.

"There were punches to my midsection, and one big punch to my head. That knocked me down," he says.

The video shows his twin and two friends approach to try to stop the officer.

The officer draws his gun and points it at them.

Arrested

"He said he'll f--king shoot us,' the young man recounted. "I was shocked. On the ground, scared, not doing anything. One of my friends in the video you can see he steps back, takes his hat off, sits down. He sits in submission, I guess."

All four were arrested and charged.

If things had happened a little bit differently, one of these young men might have been dead."- Peter Rosenthal, Lawyer representing the four men at the hearing

The man was charged with assaulting police, and threatening death. At the age of 15, he was held in a jail cell overnight.

All the charges were eventually withdrawn.

Looking back on the arrest, the English major says one of the reasons he believes this happened to him was he exercised his rights.

"My socio-economic status of who I am. Where I live and fit into society. I don't think the Toronto police force is racist. But I think there are people on the force who may be racist. I think there are cops who aren't very good people."

• Racial Bias Alleged in Wrongful Arrest Suit

Looking for justice

Lourenco faces two counts of discreditable conduct. He and his then-partner, Pais, each face one count of unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority under the Police Services Act.

CBC Newscontacted their lawyers, who declined to comment for this story.

The lawyer representing the four young men at the hearing, whichwas put over Monday until Dec. 7., says the video was key to having their charges withdrawn five years ago and he hopes the video will lead to justice.

"If things had happened a little bit differently, one of these young men might have been dead,"Peter Rosenthal said.

"It's really, really serious in my view, and that has to be dealt with in this case and in a way to prevent it from happening in future."

The young man has tried to moved on. He's in university and wants to be a teacher. But he admits he's troubled:

"There hasn't been any justice served. There hasn't been any closure. I think the officers, specifically Laurenco, he's in a position of authority and trust in society," he told Dwight Drummond.

"He negatively impacted our lives. It could have been a lot worse if we didn't have a support system."