Judge accepts officer's version

A man facing charges that stem from an impaired driving incident in Oliver in 2012 was found guilty on four counts in a Penticton courtroom on Thursday.

Anthony Chester Bryant was convicted of impaired driving, obstructing a police officer, failing to stop and refusing to take a breath sample -- he was found not guilty of flight from police.

Judge Gregory Koturbash further dismissed Bryant's application to have the charges dismissed due to an infringement of his charter rights, arising from excessive force used by the constable making the arrest.

Koturbash stated he was satisfied that the crown established, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Cst. MacNeil did not use excessive force.

"I rejected Bryant's evidence and the evidence of his witnesses and accept the evidence of constables MacNeil and Stermscheg," he said. "Although Cst. MacNeil was mistaken as to the reason for Bryant reaching under the dash, it was reasonable for him to believe that he might be reaching for a weapon and to forcibly remove him from the vehicle and place him under arrest."

The judge further stated that he accepted Bryant did sustain some minor bruising during the arrest, but the bruising was not the result of excessive or unreasonable force.

MacNeil was the first witness to testify during the trial, regarding the June 11, 2012 incident.

On that day he observed a truck pulling a utility trailer, travelling on Sawmill Road near Oliver, swerve to the very edge of the right shoulder and back across the centre line.

He activated his emergency lights but the vehicle did not stop or slow down. He contacted another officer for  assistance and activated his siren.

Bryant eventually pulled into his driveway and came to a stop. MacNeil, believing the situation to be high risk, then ran to the driver's door with his handgun drawn and trained on Bryant, while the other officer went to the passenger door.

When MacNeil approached he noticed Bryant's face was red and he could smell an odour of liquor from inside the cab.

Bryant told the officer he needed to shut the truck off and MacNeil responded by saying to turn it off and get out.

For Bryant to turn off the vehicle he needed to reach below the dash, leading MacNeil to believe he was reaching under the seat and potentially grabbing a weapon. MacNeil then reacted quickly by pulling Bryant  from his truck and forcing him to the ground.

Bryant's version of events differed from the officer.The reason the officer observed the vehicle swerving was because the steering box on his truck was worn, causing it to wander to the left or right depending on the grade. He also stated he hadn't been drinking that day, but had drank heavily the night before.

After pulling into his driveway, Bryant said the officer came to his door, pointed the gun at him and told him to get the f*** out.

He said when he then reached under the dashboard to turn off his truck, the constable grabbed his ponytail and began striking him in the face with his fist. Once out of the truck, he landed face down and that is when the constable started kicking him, he said.

Testimony was also given by the other officer who attended to the incident, the passenger in Bryant's vehicle and a woman who lived next door, who said she could see a kicking motion.

In making his analysis, Koturbash said he found both officers to be credible and reliable and that their description of the events were internally and externally consistent.

Although he found the neighbour to be credible. He did not find her evidence reliable.

Nor did he find the passenger in the vehicle to be a credible witness, saying he was a good friend of Bryant's.

He further rejected Bryant's evidence, stating it defies common sense that a person so concerned about finding a safe place to park, would not be concerned about driving a vehicle that steered so poorly.

In terms of the testimony that Bryant was kicked multiple times, the next day Bryant took photographs of the injuries and those injuries are not consistent with the type of beating described, said the judge.

However, they are consistent with the events described by MacNeil.

The matter has gone over to the JCM to fix a date for sentencing.