A New Westminster cop accused of beating up a newspaper delivery man told his side of the story in a B.C. court on Wednesday, and said that his actions were consistent with his training.

Const. Jeffrey Klassen took the stand in provincial court on charges of assault and possession of stolen property related to an attack on Surrey resident Firoz Khan on Jan. 20, 2009.

Khan was assaulted late at night while he was delivering newspapers in downtown Vancouver.

The court heard that a group of men -- including Klassen, Delta Const. Blair Tanino, West Vancouver Const. Griffan Gillan, Sportsnet reporter Dan Murphy and former WWE wrestler Mike Roselli -- bar-hopped along Granville Street for several hours before the assault.

Klassen testified that he drank between nine and 11 beers over the course of roughly eight hours. He said that he felt fine: slightly buzzed, but nothing unusual for a night of social drinking.

"That was a typical pattern of drinking for me. That night was no different than any other night for me," Klassen said.

"I drink for pleasure, not to get drunk."

Later in the evening, the group became separated. Earlier in the trial, Tanino testified that he contacted Gillan by cell phone, and the police officer sounded like he was in trouble at the Hyatt Regency hotel.

Klassen and Tanino took a cab to the hotel, which is where the attack on Khan took place.

Gillan, who had consumed more than 20 drinks that night and said he couldn't remember the beating, has already pled guilty to the assault and received a 21-day conditional sentence.

Defence lawyers told the court that although Klassen did use force against Khan while restraining him, it was in line with his police training for reacting to an unknown situation.

The defence says that Klassen did not punch Khan, which is something the newspaper delivery man disputes.

"I had my head down on the ground. I was thrown against the wall. I was punched and kicked in the head, so that's not just like using force -- what the police are trained for," he said outside the court.

The trial will resume on Friday, when Klassen will return to the stand for cross-examination.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Norma Reid