JUSTICE SYSTEM 'A JOKE' FOR TEEN ALLEGEDLY BEATEN BY OFFICER

A judge has ordered a stay of proceedings against a Kingston police
officer accused of beating a 16-year-old boy, a decision that has
prompted the boy's parents to call the justice system "a joke."

A lawyer for Const. Michael Seymour successfully argued that the
officer has been denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial,
stripping the boy of his opportunity to take the stand against the man
accused of repeatedly punching him while he was handcuffed.

"I just find it's a letdown," the boy's mother said yesterday. "We
weren't looking for blood or anything like that. We were just looking
to get the police to stand up and notice what our youth were going
through.

"It was an embarrassment to the police that this happened. And it was
an embarrassment to the court system, too."

Neither the boy nor his parents can be identified because of legal
provisions for young offenders. At the time of the alleged assault,
the boy, now 19, was on probation for an underage drinking conviction.

It's been nearly three years since Const. Seymour was charged with
assault and Superior Court Judge Michael J. Quigley cited a number of
delays. The trial was supposed to take place last June, but Const.
Seymour asked for a preliminary hearing, which was delayed until
October because his lawyer had a death in the family. The trial was
stalled again when the officer's lawyers asked for a change of venue,
but the request was dismissed.

For the last 32 months, the boy's mother has attended nearly a dozen
of Const. Seymour's court appearances.

"I continually went to court and it just seemed like it was a laugh,"
she said. "Being it was a cop, I felt it was different."

Neither Const. Seymour, nor his lawyer, could be reached for comment
yesterday.

On the night of the alleged assault, the boy was taking a shortcut
home past a Kingston high school, when Const. Seymour pulled up in his
cruiser. The boy had marijuana on him and when Const. Seymour told him
to stop, the boy ran and threw the drugs in a ditch.

Witnesses, who were responding to a false alarm at the school, said
they allegedly saw Const. Seymour manhandle the teen. The boy also
claims the officer drove him behind the school, where he climbed into
the backseat and punched him five to six times in the face.

All charges against the boy were withdrawn by the Crown.

The boy's parents may still try to have Const. Seymour charged under
the Police Services Act.