BARRIE, Ont. - A retired armed forces man apologized yesterday for the "vicious" beating of a South Simcoe police officer.

Brian McDade, 49, of Sudbury, Ont., pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault after he attacked Const. Steve Morrison, 36, during a bizarre altercation in Bradford on June 19, 2009.

"This was a vicious, unprovoked attack," said Crown attorney Frank Faveri, who is asking for a seven-year prison sentence. "An attack upon one of our police officers is an attack upon all of us."

In his victim impact statement, the officer told how he performed a routine stop after he noticed McDade giving him "a finger gesture" for no reason.

When he approached the vehicle McDade opened the door of his van and rushed at the officer.

"He snapped, he went crazy," said Morrison.

He said he applied pepper spray but McDade continued the attack, punching and kneeing Morrison in the head in a frenzy.

"I thought I was going to die," the officer said. "Everything went black."

Two other officers eventually came to his aid and Morrison was taken to hospital with a concussion. He suffered blinding headaches and vomited for weeks.

He continues to get headaches.

"I'm sorry," McDade said as he stood before the judge, but he added he was a victim of a previous assault.

"In 2005, I was brutally beaten by a London police officer and I was traumatized," he said.

Court heard McDade, who did active duty in the Canadian Forces in Cyprus and Israel in the mid-1980s, has two previous convictions for assaulting a police officer in London, Ont., and has a history of being belligerent with police.

"Questions remain unanswered," said the Crown. "Does he hate police officers so much that he wants to maim or kill them? Or does he just beat them for the sport?"

Justice Michael Harpur will sentence McDade on May 2.