A Windsor police officer is on trial in Ottawa for an alleged assault in 2023.
Sgt. Deler Bal, 51, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault and one count of cause bodily harm after a fight with an Ottawa man.
The incident happened on Sept. 23, 2023 in the bathroom of Prohibition Public House on Somerset Street.
Bal was off-duty but in the Nation’s Capital for the annual Canadian Police and Peace Officers’ Memorial Service on Parliament Hill.
Bal and 18 members of the Windsor Police Honour Guard were at the establishment the night before the ceremony.
Bal told the court Wednesday a fight broke out after he accidentally tried to enter a stall in the men’s bathroom.
“I apologized. Said it was a mistake,” Bal told the court.
Bal said the situation got “increasingly more tense” when Bal refused to check that the door lock was broken.
He said the man got into his personal “space”, so Bal put both hands on his chest and pushed the man backwards.
“As I’m pushing him away, he locked onto the neckline of my hoodie,” Bal said. “I delivered two strikes to his face with my right hand.”
The man then pulled Bal’s hoodie from the back, up and over his face, obstructing his vision.
“He lifted me off my feet and slammed me up against the wall,” Bal said, noting the action hit the light switch and the bathroom was dark.
Bal told the judge he was “terrified” after the man then “slammed” him onto the ground.
“My number one priority is getting back on my feet,” he said.
The two men continued to struggle as they exited the bathroom, with Bal attempting and failing to land another blow to the mans face.
By then, the bar manager intervened, and the fight ended.
Bal injuries remain
Bal told the court his wife photographed injuries to his back and arm when he returned to Windsor on Sept. 24.
The Windsor Police Association also photographed his injures the next day.
Bal said he still has some minor wounds on his back from the altercation, nearly a year and a half later.
Cross examination of Bal
Bal admitted on cross examination he had been drinking that evening.
In the two hours before the fight – which occurred just before nine p.m. – Bal said he had a beer, a shot of whisky and two cocktails.
He denied being impaired while also admitting he wouldn’t have driven a car.
“As soon as he moved towards me, I took that as a threat,” Bal testified.
Assistant Crown Attorney Hart Shouldice asked numerous questions about Bal’s responsibilities and training as a police officer.
“Do you think a police officer should try harder to avoid getting into a fight in a public washroom?” Shouldice asked.
“I don’t believe I escalated the situation Sir,” Bal replied.
Bal said he tried to de-escalate the situation by pushing the man away from him but it didn’t work so he punched him twice, “to try to make some space”.
The crown replayed surveillance video footage from the hallway outside the washroom.
The 10-second video shows the men stumble out of the washroom, where Bal lands two more punches before the man pushes Bal back towards the washroom.
It appears the man is about to punch Bal when he was able to push the man away from him and the fight ends.
“In my mind I was the victim,” Bal testified. “But I was the one charged with the offences.”
Bal’s only explanation for why he didn’t report the assault was he didn’t want to embarrass his colleagues with him in Ottawa and he didn’t want to “drag it out”.
Bal evidence complete
Last Wednesday afternoon Bal completed his testimony.
Defence lawyer Mark Ertel told Justice Juliana Martel he has one more witness to call Thursday before closing arguments will begin.
