Ottawa police officer fired following assault conviction loses appeal

Ottawa Police headquarters on Elgin St. is seen in this undated photo. (CTV News Ottawa)

An Ottawa police officer convicted of assaulting a man nearly five years ago will have to resign or he’ll be fired after losing the appeal of his dismissal.

Const. Goran Beric was found guilty of assault and assault with a weapon in October 2023 in connection to an incident involving a man at an Ottawa Community Housing building in August 2021. He received a suspended sentence with 30 months probation.

In 2025, Beric pleaded guilty to three counts of discreditable conduct and two counts of insubordination under the Code of Conduct for police. A hearing officer ordered Beric to resign from the force within seven days or be fired.

Beric appealed the penalty, and a hearing was held on Jan. 15.

In a decision released on Friday, May 8, the Ontario Police Arbitration and Adjudication Commission panel dismissed the appeal, ruling the hearing officer’s “decision on penalty was reasonable.”

The ruling said Beric’s lawyers argued the hearing officer failed to “appropriately consider” the officer’s “prospect of rehabilitation.”

“The hearing officer fairly considered the appellant’s rehabilitative potential. We do not accept that there was a ‘specific, structured, rehabilitative plan on the record,’” the ruling said.

“More generally, we find the hearing officer appropriately considered the appellant’s rehabilitative potential within the context of the other considerations relating to penalty. The hearing officer properly set out the key considerations when imposing penalty: the seriousness of the misconduct, the ability to reform or rehabilitate the officer, and the impact to the reputation of the police service that will occur if the officer remains a member of the police service.”

The plan also ruled the hearing officer did not fail to “apportion proper weight to mitigating and aggravating factors” and “did not err in considering relevant precedents.”

Beric was found guilty of assaulting a man while responding to a call at an Ottawa Community Housing complex on Bronson Avenue on August 4, 2021. Beric struck the man with his closed baton and stepped on his neck for two minutes and five seconds to hold him down.

In the 28-page decision by the hearing officer, released in May 2025, retired Ontario Provincial Police Supt. M.P.B. Elbers ruled that, “in light of the seriousness of the allegations,” Beric will be fired from the Ottawa Police Service if he does not resign within seven days.

“The conduct exhibited by this officer while on duty in Ottawa is deplorable and will cause damage to the reputation of the Ottawa Police Service,” Supt. Elbers said in the decision.

“The credibility of officers that conduct investigations and act inappropriately can have an adverse effect on the officer and those in attendance. Further, this incident was reported in the media, resulting in the embarrassment of the Ottawa Police Service.”

Beric has been a member of the Ottawa Police Service since 2006.

According to the Ontario Salary Disclosure, Beric earned $131,149 in 2025 while suspended.

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