Cops made split-second decision on use of force, judge told

Defence lawyers argued Friday that three Calgary police officers charged with assaulting a suspect fleeing a traffic stop should be acquitted, while the Crown argued that the level of force delivered during the arrest was unreasonable.

Judge Margaret Keelaghan heard the closing arguments Friday in a trial stemming from the July 30, 2016, incident near Glenmore and Macleod trails.

James Othen, Kevin Humfrey and Mike Sandalack were charged with assault causing bodily harm.

Othen and Humfrey face two additional charges each of public mischief for allegedly falsifying police reports, which led to Clayton Prince initially being charged with resisting arrest.

Othen also faces a charge of assault with a weapon for allegedly digging a key into Prince’s neck.

Both Othen and Humfrey’s lawyers argued that the public mischief charges should be dropped because Prince was evading arrest when he ran from officers.

But Crown prosecutor Jim Stewart said evidence indicates Prince surrendered to Const. Chris Harris when he drew his weapon.

“The evidence doesn’t support the fact that Prince resisted arrest,” he said.

Defence lawyer Alain Hepner said Othen was on routine patrol when he received a call about someone running away from a traffic stop. He described the foot chase of an unknown suspect as a “stressful event” for the officer.

That anxiety level was heightened when Othen saw Harris draw his service weapon, Hepner told the judge.

He argued that Othen had an obligation to “neutralize the situation” and to protect his colleagues from potential harm.

Humfrey’s counsel, David Butcher, said his client had not been in a foot chase prior to the incident, but knew the situation “was potentially dangerous.”

“The Crown brings these charges because they are critical of the split-second decision made by Othen and Humfrey … but the decisions they made were to use much lower levels of force than Const. Harris,” Butcher said.

Prince was hospitalized for five days following the incident with a collapsed lung and broken ribs.

The case is expected to return to court in mid-January.