Former Surrey mayor Doug McCallumsa国际传媒檚 defence lawyer Richard Peck characterized his client as a victim of sa国际传媒渁nimosity arising from a culture of meannesssa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒渢oxic fanaticismsa国际传媒� in his final submissions Tuesday afternoon in McCallumsa国际传媒檚 public mischief trial.
sa国际传媒淲hen repeated it amounts to criminal harassment, and repeated it was,sa国际传媒� Peck told Judge Reginald Harris, who is presiding over the trial in courtroom 101, Surrey provincial courtsa国际传媒檚 largest courtroom.
sa国际传媒淪he despised McCallum,sa国际传媒� Peck said of Deborah Johnstone, whom the mayor accuses of running over his foot with her car.
Peck said McCallum sa国际传媒� a sa国际传媒渄edicated public servantsa国际传媒� who as mayor sa国际传媒渨eathered a fair share of criticismsa国际传媒� from a sa国际传媒渟mall subsetsa国际传媒� of the population sa国际传媒� was taking a break from the sa国际传媒渉urly burlysa国际传媒� of public life to do some grocery shopping on Sept. 4, 2021 when the event resulting in his criminal charge occurred.
sa国际传媒淔or her, itsa国际传媒檚 an opportunity,sa国际传媒� he told the judge. Peck called Johnstonesa国际传媒檚 driving the sa国际传媒渆pitome of reckless.
sa国际传媒淚n the process his foot was run over,sa国际传媒� he said. Once Johnstone saw McCallum in the parking lot, Peck submitted, sa国际传媒渟he targeted and stalked him. She drove her car stealthily.sa国际传媒�
McCallumsa国际传媒檚 confusion in perception was not surprising given the circumstances, Peck argued.
sa国际传媒淗e was startled,sa国际传媒� the defence lawyer said. sa国际传媒淣aturally there was upset, confusion and distortion of memory.sa国际传媒�
The Crown was set to make its final submissions on Wednesday, after press time.
McCallum did not testify.
Former Safe Surrey Coalition councillor Laurie Guerra testified Tuesday that her first encounter with Johnstone sa国际传媒� the woman McCallum claims drove over his foot sa国际传媒� involved Johnstone yelling and swearing at them during an event.
sa国际传媒淭he mayor didnsa国际传媒檛 react to it. We just thought that was odd behaviour.sa国际传媒�
Guerra was part of McCallumsa国际传媒檚 team on council for four years before her election defeat on Oct. 15. sa国际传媒淯p until yesterday I was a councillor.sa国际传媒�
She testified that during a council meeting Johnstone was making sa国际传媒渂izarresa国际传媒� facial expressions sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒渒ind of goofy looking.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淒ebi Johnstone told me to go F myself.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚t was a shocking display that we never experienced before,sa国际传媒� Guerra said. She told the court Johnstone showed up at her home with a camera in her hand, along with Merle Scott, wife of Keep the RCMP in Surrey campaign organizer Ivan Scott. sa国际传媒淚n my opinion the line has been crossed,sa国际传媒� Guerra said, adding she felt sa国际传媒渢errified.
sa国际传媒淚 didnsa国际传媒檛 sign up for that. Itsa国际传媒檚 disgraceful.sa国际传媒�
With that, the defence closed its case.
McCallumsa国际传媒檚 first defence witness Tuesday, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Kevin Wing, testified before a packed courtroom that the former Surrey mayorsa国际传媒檚 medical records from Peace Arch Hospital are consistent with soft tissue injury to his foot. McCallum claims his foot was run over during a parking lot spat in South Surrey.
sa国际传媒淭he foot is complex,sa国际传媒� Wing said, noting it has 26 bones. He teaches at UBC, specializes in foot and ankle injuries and practices at St. Paulsa国际传媒檚 Hospital.
Defence lawyer Eric Gottardi asked what role adrenaline plays in recognizing whether you are injured or not. Wing replied itsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渨ell recognizedsa国际传媒� that in fight-or-flight situations adrenaline is a factor. A twisted ankle, he noted, might get increasingly sore after the fact.
Gottardi asked if injuries similar to McCallumsa国际传媒檚 can arise from sa国际传媒渟udden stimuli,sa国际传媒� such as reacting to a car going by, through pivoting or shifting weight.
sa国际传媒淭he answer is yes,sa国际传媒� the doctor replied.
sa国际传媒淪omething happened in conjunction with this brief interaction with this vehicle.sa国际传媒�
During cross-examination, Special prosecutor Richard Fowler noted McCallum claimed his leg and foot was run over and asked Wing if McCallumsa国际传媒檚 medical record contained anything about his leg.
Wing told the court McCallum underwent a sa国际传媒渇oot-slash-ankle exam.sa国际传媒� Asked if swelling can be caused by aging or high blood pressure, Fowler testified a history of hypertension wouldnsa国际传媒檛 sa国际传媒渢riggersa国际传媒� him to expect to see swelling in the foot.
Fowler asked if there was anything in McCallumsa国际传媒檚 medical record indicating inconsistency between his left foot and right foot.
sa国际传媒淐orrect,sa国际传媒� Wing replied. He said if the left foot was the source of the complaint he wouldnsa国际传媒檛 expect the right foot would be examined.
The former Surrey mayor is charged with one count of public mischief stemming from an encounter on Sept. 4, 2021 between himself and a group of volunteers that was gathering petition signatures outside the South Point Save-On-Foods store in South Surrey for a referendum on the policing transition.
Last week, the court heard McCallum told police Johnstone ran over his leg and foot with her Mustang in the parking lot then drove off in a sa国际传媒渧ery dangeroussa国际传媒� manner. sa国际传媒淚 really on this one want to go after her,sa国际传媒� McCallum told police.
Special prosecutor Richard Fowler said sa国际传媒渢he question will besa国际传媒� if McCallum intended to mislead police into believing she had done something illegal sa国际传媒渂y making false statements to the police with the intention to cause Ms. Johnstone to be suspected of having committed an offence.sa国际传媒�
The court reviewed CCTV footage from the grocery storesa国际传媒檚 entrance looking out into the parking lot where Johnstone confronted McCallum, they had an exchange, she drove off and he then walked to the store. sa国际传媒淚t became unpleasantries between the two of us, back and forth,sa国际传媒� Johnstone testified. sa国际传媒淚t was a heated debate. I told him he was the worst mayor that Surrey ever had. I told him he was mean-spirited and a liar.
sa国际传媒淚 swore at him,sa国际传媒� she testified. sa国际传媒淚 made a reference to him having a scaly face. I called him a scaly-faced motherfsa国际传媒�-er.sa国际传媒�
Johnstone told the court she drove away slowly because she was in a parking lot. She said her intent was to find parking.
Johnstone said she didnsa国际传媒檛 hear, feel or see anything unexpected and doesnsa国际传媒檛 recall McCallum saying anything to her as she drove off. Later that afternoon, police told her she was being investigated for assault with a weapon and criminal harassment.
The Crown is proceeding summarily in McCallumsa国际传媒檚 trial. A summary offence in B.C. is considered to be in the realm of petty crime and under the Criminal Code of Canada is the least serious type of offence.
After a 13-year break from the mayorsa国际传媒檚 chair, which he occupied from 1996 to 2005, McCallum was sworn in by a judge on Nov. 5, 2018 for his fourth term as Surreysa国际传媒檚 mayor. Brenda Locke, of Surrey Connect, defeated him for the mayorsa国际传媒檚 seat in the Oct. 15 election by 973 votes. Locke and the new council were sworn in on Monday night (Nov. 7). One of her election promises was to make McCallum pay for his own legal costs in this case, rather than Surrey taxpayers having to foot the bill. Locke told the Now-Leader last week she instructed city staff sa国际传媒渢o seek outside legal for an opinion regarding the citysa国际传媒檚 obligation.sa国际传媒�
Meantime, the court heard last week the Surrey RCMP had a seven-member team investigating McCallumsa国际传媒檚 complaint.
sa国际传媒淧retty extraordinary isnsa国际传媒檛 it?sa国际传媒� defence lawyer Richard Peck, K.C., asked Crown witness Sgt. Andre Johnny, the prime investigator, to which the officer replied, sa国际传媒淣o.sa国际传媒� Johnny told the court he couldnsa国际传媒檛 conclusively say whether McCallumsa国际传媒檚 foot had been run over.
McCallumsa国际传媒檚 911 call reporting the alleged hit-and-run was played in court, with him telling the dispatcher Johnstone sa国际传媒渏ust about hit me, actuallysa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒渟he ran over my leg and foot.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淪hesa国际传媒檚 harassed me before,sa国际传媒� McCallum told the dispatcher. sa国际传媒淪he called me a piece of shit.sa国际传媒�
Asked if he needed an ambulance, McCallum told the dispatcher he could drive with his right foot to hospital but his left foot was sa国际传媒渧ery numb.sa国际传媒� McCallum later told the Surrey RCMP during a 58-minute interview at the station that sa国际传媒渟he just floored it. I thought she was going to peel rubber.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚t looked like she just purposely wanted to clip me,sa国际传媒� he said.
McCallum told the police officer he went to Peace Arch Hospital and underwent seven X-rays which, he said, revealed soft tissue damage but no broken bones.
McCallumsa国际传媒檚 defence began its case with a declaration that the evidence presented by the Crown falls sa国际传媒渕arkedly shortsa国际传媒� of the criminal standard of proof to support a conviction.
Gottardi called as a witness Dennis Chimich, a biomechanical engineer and expert in injury causation. Chimich determined there was a mass of 413 kilograms over Johnstonesa国际传媒檚 right rear wheel, that the vehicle sa国际传媒渞olled oversa国际传媒� McCallumsa国际传媒檚 foot as he was sa国际传媒渞elativelysa国际传媒� standing still, and that feet can be run over resulting in no fractures.
sa国际传媒淏one injuries are not to be expected at low speed,sa国际传媒� he said. The absence of fractures in McCallumsa国际传媒檚 case sa国际传媒渄oes not mean that his foot was not run over.sa国际传媒�
He brought out a skeleton foot model in court as a visual aid. They also discussed a journal called sa国际传媒淔oot and Ankle International,sa国际传媒� which drew some chuckles from the gallery.
During cross examination, Chimich told Fowler he didnsa国际传媒檛 calculate horizontal acceleration but sa国际传媒渦sed mass as my guidesa国际传媒� for vertical force. He did not know the state of the tiresa国际传媒檚 inflation, he said, nor did he physically examine McCallumsa国际传媒檚 shoes but saw photos. Fowler asked him what minimal force is required to cause visible injuries on a foot inside a sock and shoe. sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 know,sa国际传媒� Chimich replied.
The defencesa国际传媒檚 next expert witness was Bradley Heinrichs, a mechanical engineer and expert in accident reconstruction and video analysis A frame-by-frame review of CCTV footage from the grocery store shows McCallumsa国际传媒檚 arm sa国际传媒渏erk backsa国际传媒� as the tire passes, Heinrich noted. He said he went to the scene and used a laser scanner to create a 3-D scan of the parking lot, which was shown in court. Heinrichs said the video was not capable of telling him if there was a limp or change in McCallumsa国际传媒檚 gait after the incident. sa国际传媒淚 couldnsa国际传媒檛 tell,sa国际传媒� he said.
A third witness for the defence, radiologist Dr. Hamed Basseri, works at Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock. He testified he found no X-ray evidence of a fracture in McCallumsa国际传媒檚 left foot but sa国际传媒渕oderatesa国际传媒� soft-tissue swelling on the outside of the foot sa国际传媒渢oward the small toe.sa国际传媒� During cross-examination, Basseri told Fowler he never physically observed McCallumsa国际传媒檚 foot and did not observe any X-ray of the right foot. He told the court he was not able to say if there was swelling on the day before Sept. 4 or earlier.
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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