Seeking police protection
Chairman of Murray Harbour village council charged with assault, requesting police protection after altercation
The chairman of Murray Harbour village council is requesting police protection after an altercation at a local restaurant late last month that resulted in him facing assault charges and another individual being charged with uttering death threats.
Gary Herring is also requesting police take away firearms from an individual he said left him with injuries following the altercation on May 31, until the issue makes its way through court.
Herring is scheduled to appear in provincial court on June 29. Jody White of Murray Harbour has been charged with uttering threats to cause death. White’s case has been adjourned until July 6. Herring said his son was also threatened the night before the altercation, which occurred at Murray Harbour’s Harbourview Restaurant.
Herring said he had gone to the restaurant for fries on May 31, when a group of about eight police arrived at the location and sat in the back of the dining area. Herring said he chatted with police about the previous night’s incident, in which his son had called RCMP but didn’t want to lay charges. Originally, he thought that was why officers were in the village. Herring said he later found out police were in the area for a drug bust. Herring said he was outside the restaurant when an individual began approaching him.
Herring said he said ‘hi’ to the individual, who then allegedly cursed at Herring and threatened to throw him off the restaurant’s deck. “I knew the cops were inside, so I got up and he turned around, we got to the door — both of us — and when the door opened I yelled ‘hey guys can you give me a hand.’ He had no clue there were eight cops in there,” said Herring. Herring said he was then shoved into the doorframe while walking into the restaurant and suffered injuries. He went to Kings County Memorial Hospital in Montague following the incident and provided The Guardian with his medical records.
The document stated that Herring sustained injuries to his left ribs and the left side of his neck. The examiner noted there was mild tenderness on the left side of his neck and chest wall but no swelling or bruising.
Herring was later discharged and sent home.
Herring said the issue goes back several years and he is now worried about his safety until the matter goes through the court. He has also requested RCMP remove the other individual’s firearms. Herring said he has been denied the request for police protection and that RCMP told him they were unsure if the other individual owned any firearms. The Guardian was unable to receive a reply from the RCMP in regard to this story.
The Guardian was also unable to reach White for comment.
Herring said his movement throughout the village as chairman has been restricted because of the incident. “What I’m asking for now is that people come forward — those people who have been threatened before in the past come to the RCMP and media,” said Herring. “I asked for this two years ago.”