Scammer
Banned
The trial of a Fredericton Police officer charged with the assault of an off-duty soldier resumed Monday after a three-month adjournment and heard from an expert on restraint techniques.
Const. Stephen Stafford walked into court holding his wife's hand Monday morning.
Then both T. J. Burke, Stafford's defence lawyer, and Gabriel Bourgeois, the Crown prosecutor, carted in multiple boxes of files as the assault trial picked up again.
Bourgeois said the crucial question is whether Stafford used excessive force in handling Luc Begin, the soldier who is claiming he was assaulted.
The Crown prosecutor called one of its final witnesses, RCMP Sgt. Rick Walkinshaw, who teaches use of force techniques for the national police force.
Walkinshaw teaches how an officer can assess a situation for risk and determine what holds and tactics should be used.
The judge has gone into a voir dire session, which means nothing from that part of the trial can be reported until the judge decides whether she wants to consider that evidence.
The alleged assault took place on July 18, 2009, outside a downtown Fredericton nightclub.
Video of the night was recorded by local blogger Charles LeBlanc and it was entered into evidence during the first week of the trial in November. Multiple witnesses testified to seeing an officer knee Begin repeatedly.
Begin himself will stand trial later this year on two charges of obstruction of justice related to that night.
He was also charged with four counts stemming from an incident with police two days after the nightclub incident.
Const. Stephen Stafford walked into court holding his wife's hand Monday morning.
Then both T. J. Burke, Stafford's defence lawyer, and Gabriel Bourgeois, the Crown prosecutor, carted in multiple boxes of files as the assault trial picked up again.
Bourgeois said the crucial question is whether Stafford used excessive force in handling Luc Begin, the soldier who is claiming he was assaulted.
The Crown prosecutor called one of its final witnesses, RCMP Sgt. Rick Walkinshaw, who teaches use of force techniques for the national police force.
Walkinshaw teaches how an officer can assess a situation for risk and determine what holds and tactics should be used.
The judge has gone into a voir dire session, which means nothing from that part of the trial can be reported until the judge decides whether she wants to consider that evidence.
The alleged assault took place on July 18, 2009, outside a downtown Fredericton nightclub.
Video of the night was recorded by local blogger Charles LeBlanc and it was entered into evidence during the first week of the trial in November. Multiple witnesses testified to seeing an officer knee Begin repeatedly.
Begin himself will stand trial later this year on two charges of obstruction of justice related to that night.
He was also charged with four counts stemming from an incident with police two days after the nightclub incident.
