Police in a Canadian city have charged the victim of a bat attack with aggravated assault after the victim allegedly took the bat from the attacker and hit him with it several times.

What are the details?

Police in Peterborough — which is in Ontario and just shy of two hours northeast of Toronto — said they were called to a convenience store in the King Street and Bethune Street area around 2:30 a.m. Friday and found that the male clerk was helping a customer when a second male holding a baseball bat entered the store demanding money.

Police said a struggle ensued, and the clerk was struck with the bat before grabbing the bat from the suspect, who fled the store. The clerk followed the suspect out of the store and hit him with the bat several times, police said.

The suspect suffered head injuries and was in a Toronto hospital receiving treatment, police said, adding that emergency medical services treated the 22-year-old clerk at the scene.

Police said they issued an arrest warrant for the 37-year-old male suspect for robbery, assault with a weapon, and possession of weapon.

However, cops also said they arrested the clerk and charged him with aggravated assault and that the clerk was was held in custody and appeared in court Saturday.

Police added that they want to talk to the male customer who was in the store at the time of the incident. Those with information can call Peterborough Police at 705-876-1122 x555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or go online at www.stopcrimehere.ca.

'This is not about politics ... this is not about race'

It appears members of the public expressed outrage once word got out about police arresting and charging the clerk — so much so that Police Chief Stu Betts issued a rare public statement defending the decision and calling criticism "unfair."

"Yes, this case is unusual, but in a world where security cameras are everywhere, do you really think we would not have seized & reviewed the footage as part of the investigation and prior to laying charges?" Betts asked detractors. "If you follow anything in the media, you will know that I cannot speak to the particulars of this case because it is before the Court, but if you have a desire to know what has led to the charges, follow the case in Court. Allow the facts of the case to guide your commentary and opinion, not your reaction to a headline."

Betts added, "This is not about politics – politics have nothing to do with the facts. This is not about race — as some have suggested. This is not about the perception that criminals go free while victims of crime are penalized — this is about the law. I encourage you to stop and think about things before determining what you think has happened, or that an injustice has taken place, because I’m quite confident that not one person who has made a comment about this case has seen the video or has access to the actual facts."

Anything else?

Daniel Brown — a criminal lawyer and past president of the Ontario Criminal Lawyers Association — said the public may have difficulty understanding the police department's decision and that some might believe the would-be robber "had it coming," CBC News reported.

"The person that went into the store to commit the robbery had premeditated this," Brown told CBC Radio's "Metro Morning," the news network noted.

"The person who was defending themselves — there was no planning, there was no deliberation … so the courts are definitely going to treat this more leniently even if he's found guilty. There are a whole bunch of extenuating circumstances that will come into play," Brown added, according to CBC News.

Brown added that the maximum sentence for aggravated assault is 14 years in prison but that the circumstances in each case do matter when it comes to sentencing, the news network reported.

Ont. convenience store clerk charged after alleged fight with robbery suspect youtu.be

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