Counsel: Andrea Urquhart
Offence: Carrying a loaded handgun
Result: Stay of Proceedings
The Accused was charged with carrying a loaded 9 mm handgun. He was arrested by the Calgary Police Service. At the time of his arrest the handgun was located in the Accused’s waistband. During the arrest CPS utilized a police dog to apprehend the accused. The police dog caused significant injury to the Accused’s arm. The Accused while in police custody asked repeatedly to see a doctor. His requests were ignored for hours by Calgary Police Officers. At trial it was argued that the Accused’s Charter rights were breached as a result of the treatment of the Accused by multiple members of the Calgary Police Service. In agreeing with the argument of the Defence Judge H.A. Lamoureux found that CPS demonstrated a “lack of empathy toward a fellow human being, a lack of professionalism and ultimate disregard of their duty to protect the accused while he is in their custody”.
