Hamilton police constable states his case before disciplinary hearing

A Hamilton police constable took the witness stand on Thursday at his Police Services Act hearing.

Constable Andrew Pfeifer has pleaded not guilty to one count of discreditable conduct, accused by the city’s only black Councillor of an arbitrary, race-based street check in April 2016.

At the time of the interaction, Councillor Matthew Green was waiting for a bus near the intersection of Stinson Street and Victoria Avenue.

Constable Pfeifer tells the hearing that he stopped his cruiser to check on Green’s well-being and asked: “how are you doing?” after spotting a man who was “standing in mud” and “hidden” behind a bridge on a cold, windy day.

Pfeifer said Green replied in a “sarcastic tone,” and said he was “taken aback by how angry he was towards me.”

The Councillor has previously testified that he felt “psychologically detained,” adding that the questioning made him feel like a suspect in his own community.

Prosecutor Brian Duxbury, in his cross-examination of the officer, questioned whether Pfeifer added references to hiding and a puddle of mud after the fact, to create a justification.

Duxbury notes that those specific references were not part of Pfeifer’s written notes on the day of the incident.

The hearing is scheduled to conclude on Friday.