Man who shot daughter’s boyfriend, killed Toronto police dog Bingo gets 14 years in prison

Man convicted in deadly shooting of a Toronto Police dog sentenced. CTV's Jon Woodward reports.

The man who shot a Toronto Police Service dog while on the run after having killed a man in a dispute with his daughter was handed down a 14-year sentence from a Toronto Superior Court judge on Tuesday.

At least a dozen uniformed officers of the TPS Dog Service K9 unit were in the courtroom to hear the sentencing of 46-year-old Kenneth Grant, who shot Sophonias Haile on July 24, 2023, and then shot the police dog, Bingo, the following day.

“This was not a reckless act but a deliberate one,” said Justice Maureen Forestell as she read her ruling.

“It was a cowardly, callous act towards an innocent animal, taken for the sole purpose of escaping apprehension,” she said.

After the hearing, Bingo’s handler, Sgt. Brandon Smith, hugged his wife and others who had attended the courtroom.

Forestell also pointed out that attacking a police dog, and putting police officers at risk during the arrest, amounted to an attack on the rule of law.

“Police officers are an integral part of the justice system,” Forestell said. “We rely on the police to put themselves in harm’s way to protect the community from the criminal element…sentences imposed on those attacks must reflect the vulnerability of police officers.”

Grant pleaded guilty last week to manslaughter, discharging a firearm with intent to prevent arrest, reckless discharge of a firearm, killing a service animal, and possession of a loaded firearm.

On July 24, 2023, Grant went to his daughter’s condo, where she was arguing with Haile, someone who had reportedly assaulted and threatened her earlier, the justice said.

Both were armed, but when the fight escalated, it was Grant who pulled his firearm and fired four times at Haile. One of those bullets hit Haile in the head and he died.

The following evening, Det. Const. Anthony Goulah found Grant loading luggage into a vehicle at a home near Dixon Road and Kipling Avenue. Grant dropped his bags, fired multiple shots, and ran, the court heard.

Sgt. Smith and his police service dog Bingo were called to locate Grant, who was hiding in a tree-covered area on the property. When Bingo found Grant, he shot Bingo fatally in the face.

The Emergency Task Force shot at Grant, striking him twice in the leg and buttocks, the justice said. When Grant was arrested, police found that his gun had jammed.

Grant could have gone to jail for as long as 23 years on conviction of the charges, the justice found.

But the principle of totality requires her to determine if certain charges relate to the same incident, and the fact that Grant had expressed remorse for his actions, pleaded guilty, and was already doing high school credits in prison, led her to reduce the sentence to 14 years.

In a tweet published following the sentencing, Toronto police said that Bingo will “always be remembered as a hero.”

With 771 days in custody, he’s entitled to about three years’ credit, so he will have just over 10 years left to serve.

“Today marks the end of a sad chapter for the Toronto Police,” wrote Clayton Campbell, the head of the Toronto Police Association. “Our Police Dog partners are valued members of our service and losing one in such a tragic way is a painful reminder of the dangers that all members of our TPA family face.”