Officer convicted of assault still awaits sentence

It’s been a year since his conviction for body slamming a theft suspect to the ground, but suspended Calgary police Const. Trevor Lindsay still doesn’t know when he’ll be sentenced.

Defence counsel Don Macleod appeared in Calgary Court of Queen’s Bench on Friday to indicate he and Crown prosecutor John Baharustani have not been able to co-ordinate a date with Justice Michael Lema to make sentencing submissions.

The lawyers were scheduled to present their arguments in April, but the COVID-19 pandemic put that on hold.

Macleod asked Justice Suzanne Bensler to set the case over to July 31, in the hopes Lema’s fall schedule is out by then and a new sentencing date can be set.

“Things have been complicated by COVID and continue to be,” Macleod said outside court.

“We have to wait for the fall schedule to come out to determine the judge’s availability.”

Lindsay, who was convicted of aggravated assault, remains at liberty pending sentence.

Last June 21, Lindsay was found guilty by Lema when the Edmonton judge rejected arguments by Macleod that the officer was acting in the scope of his duties when he slammed Daniel Haworth head first into the pavement behind the arrest processing unit.

In the May 25, 2015, incident, which was captured on surveillance video, Lindsay punched Haworth three times in the head after removing him from a police cruiser before bringing him to the ground.

Macleod argued Lindsay did not use excessive force, suggesting the officer’s manoeuvre in taking Haworth down was a legitimate police move gone wrong.

Haworth, who was drunk and handcuffed behind his back when he was taken head first to the ground, suffered a skull fracture and traumatic brain injury during the takedown.

The 35-year-old, who died less than eight months later from a fentanyl overdose, had been arrested for allegedly stealing valuable coins from his ex-girlfriend.

Lindsay, who faces up to 14 years in prison, remains suspended without pay from his police duties.