Cop-on-cop shooting trial is an unholy mess
Gotta be one hardass mofo to survive some 10 rounds of gunshots from a Glock.
Bullet through the cheek and nose, through the left shoulder, into the upper thigh, four wounds on the left calf, one in the left hip, one into the lower abdomen and one to the foot.
But hardass would probably be among the least unpleasant terms to describe Nathan Parker.
He’s the guy who was riddled with holes on Nov. 29, 2018. Yet he’s the guy in the dock in a Hamilton courtroom, charged with intent to resist arrest, assaulting a police officer and assault with a weapon. That weapon being either or both his service-issue baton and sidearm. He pleaded not guilty to the whole batch.
Parker is a cop. A constable with the Niagara Regional Police Service. The man who plugged him full of holes is also a cop in the same police department, Det. Sgt. Shane Donovan.
Cop-on-cop shooting. What an unholy mess.
“Either me or him,” Donovan said on the stand earlier this week at the judge-only trial.
Although why Donovan found it necessary to empty his entire weapon isn’t exactly clear. Except Parker had already shoved him hard in the chest, the court heard. He had thrown “haymaker’’ punches, pulled out his own gun and Donovan feared for his life — which is rote cop-speak for when an officer uses violent, potentially lethal force. Boilerplate justification.
“My belief was that my life was in danger. He’s already attacked me, hit me three or four times.”
And Parker had, shall we say, a certain reputation as a hothead, with a clutch of disciplinary rulings against him, including three convictions under the Police Act for violence and orders to take anger management.
Which apparently didn’t take one bit.
“I knew if he got the firearm up on me, then he would kill me — and it was either me or him,” Donovan had testified. “So I fired my gun until he dropped his gun.’’
And dropped to the ground, although still conscious — his police vest helped — yelling and cussing, cellphone in hand and appearing to make a call.
It just gets weirder and weirder, from the bizarre at the outset to the freakishly wayward investigation that originally saw Donovan charged with assault-related offences and attempted murder by the Special Investigations Unit, though the Crown then backed away from prosecution.
Can’t anybody around here shoot straight?
“Can you confirm it’s blue on blue shots fired?” a dispatcher asked of Donovan, after he’d got on the radio to summon an ambulance, among several recordings that have been played in court.
“Confirmed. He did pull a gun on me, but I shot him.”
The bullet-headed 55-yearold Parker, built like a tank — in fact, as thus described to the Star by someone else who’d crossed paths, and swords, with the officer, “a little tank, a wild tank,” in a civil case that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada — appeared almost bored with the proceedings on Thursday, shutting his eyes, chin in his chest, hands folded.
He wears rings on both thumbs.
In truth, it was a tedious day in court, with Donovan under cross-examination for the third day and defence lawyer Joseph Markson completely preoccupied with a last-minute disclosure from the Crown that the witness was still in possession of the SIU brief. As an accused, as he then was, Donovan was entitled to that material, which includes witness statements, at least until the Crown withdrew the charges in November 2019. Donovan insisted his perusal of the brief, in preparation for his appearance at trial, was limited. “I definitely went through my statement and I definitely looked at photos.”
It’s a digression and up to Justice Anthony Leitch to weigh the significance.
The whole case and the altercation that resulted in one officer shooting another office beggars belief, frankly.
Donovan was head of the Niagara police department’s collision reconstruction unit on that autumn day. He was at the scene of an accident that had occurred two weeks earlier in Pelham, about 20 kilometres west of Niagara Falls. Parker was a uniformed officer assigned to help barricade the road.
Never met the guy before that day, Donovan told court. Though Markson had put it to Donovan on Wednesday that he’d been displeased about having Parker at his scene. The man had a rep, was known to have a combustible temper, was a competitive bodybuilder and rumoured to have used steroids, which can cause rage. Donovan denied having a pre-existing low opinion of Parker. “I like physical education. I was actually impressed with what he did.”
In an interview with the Star at the time, Parker’s own brother accused him of steroid use as a teenager and having “bad blood with the world.”
Donovan has testified that Parker left the scene without telling anyone, during which time a resident drove on the road that was supposed to be closed for the reconstruction officers to do their job. An audio recording of Donovan calling police dispatch about Parker’s whereabouts — unknown — was played, with Donovan requesting a replacement.
Parker returned to his post shortly after noon. Donovan testified that he approached the officer’s vehicle and asked him not to leave the scene again.
“In a very loud, aggressive voice, he told me that he had to go for a piss,” Donovan told court.
When Parker allegedly responded by swearing, “I said, ‘You do know you’re speaking to a sergeant.’ ”
Following that exchange, said
Donovan, Parker got out of his cruiser and the two cops walked toward each other. That’s when Parker alleged shoved Donovan forcefully in the chest. “It was extremely hard to me. Pushed me back quite a few steps — and I was shocked … I didn’t expect it, especially from another police officer.”
Stunned, Donovan told Parker he was under arrest for assault. Parker allegedly threw punches, even as Donovan tried to walk away, court heard. As he reached his own cruiser, Donovan said he saw Parker swing at him again. The witness testified he blocked a couple of punches and got one in him. Which is when, Donovan said, Parker pulled out his baton.
Fearful that he would be struck in the head, Donovan drew his gun.
“Oh, you want to do this?” Donovan quoted Parker as saying, as he reached for his own sidearm. Donovan, who’d never fired his weapon on the job before, was not about to wait while Parker pulled the trigger. Bang-bang-bangbang-bang-bang-bang-bangbang. Nine times, he believes, Parker was hit by bullets.
Ten gun casings would be found at the scene.
From harsh words to nuclear within seconds. By cops and at maybe 10 paces.
Donovan was badly shaken. “I could not believe what had happened, and I expected no one else would believe it. I was hoping there would be video evidence to prove what had happened.”
As indeed it would be Donovan who found himself under the gun and in the SIU’s crosshairs.
Both officers remain employed by Niagara Regional Police Service.
Because firing a cop is far more difficult than firing at a cop or triggering a fiasco.