Police officer not guilty of perjury

Barton's inaccurate statements product of irrational behaviour, not perjury

Suspended Calgary police Const. Joseph Barton pumped his fist and smiled at his lawyer Thursday as a Calgary judge found him not guilty of three perjury charges.

Provincial court Judge Harry Van Harten said inaccurate statements Barton made in two affidavits and testimony during his divorce proceedings were the product of irrational behaviour often associated with such acrimonious disputes.

Van Harten rejected suggestions by Crown prosecutor Vince Pingitore that Barton's conduct was an intentional attempt to mislead the court for his own gains.

“People engaged in protracted, acrimonious disputes can become obsessed with the situation and act irrational, and that's what happened here,” the judge said.

Barton, 40, was accused of intentionally lying in two affidavits he filed in Court of Queen's Bench and testimony he gave concerning his failure to attend a March 8, 2019, court appearance, which resulted in a costs award against him of $500. In the affidavits, Barton said his ex-wife, Nikaela Lutzer, never served him with the papers informing him of the March 8 application.

Those documents were handed to him when Mounties showed up at his Airdrie residence on Feb. 27, 2019, after Lutzer refused to drop off their daughter for a court-ordered visit when they got into an argument over the child's necklace.

Lutzer had left an envelope containing the court documents on Barton's front mat and when Const. Nathan Fehr arrived with his partner to assist in facilitating the visitation, he handed the papers to the accused.

In his testimony before Van Harten, Barton said the focus of his sworn affidavits, which were made to support his application for a review of the costs order, was the fact Lutzer didn't properly serve him with the documents.

On July 19, 2019, Barton testified before a Court of Queen's Bench judge that the envelope Fehr handed him was retrieved by his partner, Const. Nunzio Pasquarelli, who said they weren't properly served.

People engaged in protracted, acrimonious disputes can become obsessed with the situation and act irrational.

Evidence from both officers, as well as audio and video picked up by their cruiser's dash cam, showed the documents were in fact left with Barton.

But defence lawyer Cory Wilson argued his client was simply honestly mistaken when he testified police took the item when they left and wasn't attempting to intentionally mislead the court.

Van Harten agreed, citing the fact Barton wanted Lutzer held in contempt, or even charged with perjury, for saying she had served him, as an example “of the horrible relationship between these two people.”

“In my view, the accused did not intend to mislead the Court of Queen's Bench in his affidavits and his testimony,” the judge said.

Barton, who is suspended without pay, still faces disciplinary sanctions for conduct unrelated to the perjury charges.