Lo said the incident that led to the assault began the previous day when Ste-Marie spotted a Jeep that was linked with a homicide in the Lower Mainland. The vehicle fled when the officer turned on his lights to pursue, but Ste-Marie gave up the chase for safety reasons.
The next day, the Jeep was flagged again and Ste-Marie was one of the officers involved in the chase. His vehicle was struck by the fleeing Jeep and Lo said Ste-Marie struck his head on the steering wheel.
The prosecutor said Ste-Marie ended up pursuing one of the Jeep's occupants on foot, which is when he heard gunshots being exchanged between another of the suspects and police.
"Const. Ste-Marie was fearful for his life," Lo told the court.
The assault happened as Ste-Marie was asking Chahal to acknowledge his arrest for attempting to flee police.
"At the time of the assault, Mr. Chahal was in police custody and posed no threat to anybody," Lo said.
"He was under complete control of the police, physically restrained and could not defend himself."
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