The lawyer for the man accused of carjacking Const. Eric Czapnik's widow at knifepoint has asked the judge to stay the court proceedings alleging that police roughed her client up when he was arrested and he won't get a fair trial.

Kevin Ransdell is on trial for robbery and forcible confinement in connection with a grocery store carjacking in June 2010.

Anna Korutowska testified earlier this week that she was robbed at knifepoint in the parking lot of a south-Ottawa grocery store six months after her husband was fatally stabbed outside the Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital.

Korutowska told the court she was approached by a man wielding a knife who demanded cash and told her to drive him to a nearby street.

Earlier this week, court heard that a DNA sample found inside Korutowska's car matched a blood sample taken from Ransdell. The court was also told that Ransdell was staying at a home in the same area that canine units lost his scent on the night of the crime.

Ransdell was arrested by police a few weeks later.

His lawyer is now asking that the proceedings be stayed, arguing that officers used excessive force during his arrest.

Ransdell took the stand Thursday to describe how he was treated by police. He alleges police caught up to him after a brief foot chase and pushed him from behind into a parked vehicle.

Photos released on Thursday show Ransdell's scraped face following his arrest.

He says he knew police were looking for him for breaking parole, but alleges what happened next can only be described as assault.

He testified that he was handcuffed while he was on the ground and then he was punched from behind, alleging that with each punch, his face was pushed into the asphalt.

"I was screaming, ‘I'm bleeding, stop.' The police officer was saying, ‘Too bad, you shouldn't have run,'" Ransdell told the court.

He added: "He was grinding my face into the ground. Blood was pooling around my face."

Ransdell's lawyer argues that the arresting officers used excessive force because they believed he was the carjacker responsible for the incident involving the police widow.

The defence's application for the stay of proceedings will continue this week. The Crown will call 11 more witnesses – all police officers – to describe their version of events.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's John Hua