SkyTrain shooter guilty of lesser charge
Man who shot transit cop convicted of aggravated assault, not guilty of attempted murder
A man who shot a Transit Police officer at a SkyTrain station in Surrey last year has been acquitted of attempted murder but convicted of the lesser offence of aggravated assault.
The Metro Vancouver Transit Police say that they are “very disappointed” with the verdict for Daon Gordon Glasgow, 37, who shot Const. Josh Harms at the Scott Road SkyTrain station on Jan. 30, 2019.
“We have requested transcripts so that we can fully review and hopefully come to some kind of understanding of why this decision was made,” Transit Police spokesman Sgt. Clint Hampton said Monday.
“What I have to say is it's hard to imagine how someone can point a gun at a police officer, pull the trigger, and not be found guilty of attempted murder.”
The trial heard that at the time of the shooting, Harms and another officer were on duty investigating “suspicious” persons when they spotted Glasgow in a parking lot south of the SkyTrain station.
Glasgow was looking directly at Harms and held his gaze. The two officers concluded that the accused had identified them as police officers.
When Glasgow began walking away from them and continually looked back at them over his shoulder and then started to run toward the station, they gave pursuit.
Glasgow, who has a lengthy criminal record, including a conviction for manslaughter from a prior shooting, pushed through a fare gate without paying and went up an escalator to the platform.
He removed a blue hoodie he was wearing and sat down on a seat waiting for the next train when H arms approached him on foot. Glasgow pulled a gun out of his waistband and opened fire.
Harms was hit twice, once in his right arm and once in his left hand. He turned around, crouched and retreated from Glasgow, who reacted by running in the same direction as the officer, pointing the gun at him, before running down the escalator and out of the station.
Glasgow, who was on parole at the time for the manslaughter conviction and living in a halfway house, fled the scene. Police launched a massive manhunt and Glasgow was arrested five days later.
Harms had surgery to remove a bullet from his right arm, and his left hand suffered significant but not debilitating damage. He is back at work.
The Crown argued that the only reasonable inference from the evidence was that Glasgow intended to kill the officer and was therefore guilty of attempted murder.
The prosecution pointed to the fact he was desperate to avoid police because he was carrying a loaded restricted firearm and was unlawfully away from the halfway house. If police were to discover him, he would be returned to prison.
In addition to aggravated assault, the judge found the accused guilty of several other offences, including discharging a restricted firearm with the intention of endangering Harms's life.
The B.C. Prosecution Service said it will be reviewing the decision to determine whether to appeal. Glasgow is back in court Dec. 15 to set a date for sentencing.