Ottawa cop granted conditional discharge after pleading guilty to assaulting 13-year-old boy in CHEO hallway

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Ottawa police Const. Muhammad Omair Khan was granted a conditional discharge in court Thursday after pleading guilty to assaulting a handcuffed, defenceless 13-year-old boy who was in his custody and in the midst of a mental health crisis in a CHEO hallway in 2022.

Ontario Court Justice Geoffrey Griffin made a statutory order for Khan to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for 12 months, along with one year of probation. He was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service as part of his sentence. The judge did not impose a weapons ban or a DNA sample order.

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The conditional discharge means Khan will remain with the Ottawa Police Service pending a professional standards review and a disciplinary hearing.

The judge cited the numerous letters of support he received from Khan’s family and his policing colleagues, along with a Chief’s commendation in 2021, a meritorious service award in 2016, positive performance reviews and a glowing reference from the Ottawa West Community Health Centre, all describing Khan as an “exemplary” officer with no disciplinary history.

His lawyer, James Foord, said Khan is “a good person and a good cop” who pleaded guilty at an early opportunity and has demonstrated he wants to learn from his mistake.

Khan has undergone counselling since the assault and has already logged numerous community service hours volunteering with his local mosque.

The Nov. 6, 2022 assault was captured on surveillance video in the CHEO hallway, and Ottawa police were alerted to the incident by hospital staff.

Khan is seen on the video lunging toward the youth and grabbing him around the jaw before throwing him to the floor.

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The youth was seated in a chair and posing no physical threat to the officer or anyone else at the time, Crown Attorney Timothy Kavanagh told the judge during a hearing in April.

Khan’s defence lawyers said their client was provoked by a steady tirade of “racially ignitable” slurs from the “extremely belligerent” youth, who has Tourette syndrome and was experiencing a violent breakdown when he was apprehended by Khan and his partner under the Mental Health Act earlier in the night.

The officer and his partner responded to a 911 emergency dispatch for a terrified family who had barricaded themselves in a bedroom after their 13-year-old son had choked his sister and threatened to kill his parents with a kitchen knife.

The youth, whose identity is shielded by a publication ban, was taken into custody just after 11 p.m. and driven to CHEO for an assessment, where the assault occurred just after midnight.

Khan, 42, was assigned to administrative duties after he was charged with one count of assault by the Ottawa Police Service’s professional standards unit in May 2023. He pleaded guilty in April.

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Foord said Thursday the Edelson Law firm will continue to represent Khan through the disciplinary process.

Ottawa Police Association president Matthew Cox said in a statement in April the union will continue to support Khan.

“Our officers respond to difficult calls daily and in some cases are on the receiving end of verbal abuse. The Association does not condone unjustified use of force on any member of the community,” Cox stated.

“Const. Khan has an exemplary record as a police officer and one lapse of judgement should not reflect on the type of officer he is. Const. Khan has plead guilty, which demonstrates he accepts responsibility, and we are here to support him through the legal process.”

More to come…

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