Judge slams daredevil driver
Provincial Court Judge Nancy Orr lashes out at offender for vile behavior towards police
A judge says Steven Alton Green of Cornwall is a glaring example of the type of offender that makes policing a challenging job.
Provincial Court Judge Nancy Orr sentenced Green to 90 days in jail for assaulting a peace officer following a night in December that saw Green treat police in obscene and obnoxious fashion.
Orr found Green guilty in March on each of four charges that all arose after a BMW ended up near a snowy ditch in Cornwall on Dec. 12, 2016. The court heard that Green had progressively made matters worse for himself by responding to his arrest at the scene with resistance and confrontation. The assault charge came from Green’s failed attempt to spit on an officer.
Orr noted Green’s aggressive and abusive behavior required three police officers to get him into the police car.
Officers testified during the trial that Green went on a prolonged physical and verbal rampage that saw him kicking the door of a police car once he was placed inside, hurling a steady stream of extremely vulgar insults at the officers and, later at the station, banging his head against a wall.
Orr says police were wise in recording the verbal onslaught, noting it offered “incredible insight’’ into the extent of Green’s behavior, particularly his expletive-laden verbal attack of a female officer.
“He was aggressive,’’ says Orr. “He was extraordinarily inappropriate. His approach to her…was completely ignorant. It was demeaning.’’
Orr lauded the female officer and the two other male officers for the calm and control exhibited in handling a drunken and combative Green.
“I have said on a number of occasions the police have a difficult job,’’ she says.
She adds police deal with people that are aggressive, abusive and “may not be of normal mind.’’
Orr highlighted the fact that she noticed Green, who represented himself, smiling and laughing while listening to the offensive audio played in court during his trial.
On Friday, Orr sentenced Green to 25 days in jail for having care and control of a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drug, three months for assaulting a peace officer to be served consecutively, three months concurrent for obstructing a peace officer in the execution of duty and 30 days for refusing to provide a breath sample. Credited with 57 days for time served on remand, Green has 88 days left to serve.
He is prohibited from driving for two years and must perform 100 hours community service work.
As a result of the assaulting a peace officer conviction, Orr also ordered a two-year weapons’ prohibition. Green must also provide a DNA sample for the national DNA bank.
Friday’s sentencing is the latest in a growing criminal record stemming from trouble on the road.
Green pleaded guilty to dangerous driving in February 2016 after a video captured him spinning and careening wildly out of control on the Charlottetown bypass highway in a Porsche. This past November, he was also sentenced to 15 days in jail after pleading guilty to driving while disqualified.