Trial set for Halifax cop accused of assaulting homeless man

A Halifax Regional Police officer accused of assaulting a homeless man and breaking his nose earlier this year will go on trial in November.

Const. Laurence Gary Basso, 37, is charged with assault causing bodily harm, public mischief and breach of trust related to an incident Feb. 25 at the Metro Turning Point shelter.

His two-day trial was scheduled Tuesday in Halifax provincial court for Nov. 26-27.

Basso was charged last month following an investigation by Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response Team, the agency that investigates serious incidents involvingpolice.

SIRTdirector Felix Cacchionehas said the incident at the BarringtonStreet shelter was captured on video surveillance, and the agency doesn't believe there was provocation.

The54-year-old alleged victimhad been asked to leave the shelter as he'd been seen drinking alcohol inside. He sat on a milk crate outside in the snow and police were called to get him to leave the property.

The mischief and breach-of-trust charges allege that between Feb. 25 and March 3Basso wrote false information inpolice reports and notes to divert suspicion from himself while policeinvestigatedthe incident at the shelter.

Halifax Regional Police said last month that Basso has been suspended with pay.

It's not the first time the police officer has been in trouble with the law.

Basso was charged with theft in May 2015. He was accused of stealing a substance known as cut, which is used to dilute drugs, from an evidence locker at police headquarters on Gottingen Street. The Crown withdrew the charges in February 2017 due to delays in the prosecution.