Trial of man accused in officer’s death ends in Vernon

By Darren Handschuh Saturday, November 4, 2006 http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/article_3541.php
Michael O’Brien’s fate now rests in the hands of a B.C. Supreme Court judge.Justice Alison Beames heard closing statements Friday in Vernon from Crown counsel Paige Johnstone and defence lawyer William Mastop, and will give her decision at 1 p.m. next Thursday. Beames said she couldn’t render her decision Friday afternoon and still have time to give her reasons.O’Brien faces a series of charges stemming from a crash in November 2004 that claimed the life of auxiliary RCMP Const. Glen Evely and seriously injured Const. Frank Grenier.O’Brien has already pleaded guilty to two of the charges: possession of stolen property, relating to the stolen truck he was driving at the time of the fatal collision, and fleeing from a peace officer. He will be sentenced Friday.Beames will decide whether O’Brien should be found guilty of criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm or of dangerous driving, a lesser charge.It’s accepted that O’Brien led police on a short pursuit minutes before he crashed into the police cruiser in Vernon’s city centre, but Johnstone tried to prove he deliberately put others in danger by driving at excessive speed along 29th Street around the same time area nightclubs were closing.Johnstone also cited several witnesses who said O’Brien entered the intersection against a red light and T-boned the police car, killing Evely.Mastop brought up the testimony of two witnesses who said the police car was going against the red light. The witnesses said Grenier had activated his emergency lights and briefly used the siren, which Mastop said is standard procedure for going through a red light.During her final arguments, Johnstone attempted to establish a pattern of driving that showed O’Brien’s disregard for public safety, including weaving from lane to lane along Bella Vista Road and running two red lights while fleeing from police.Johnstone argued O’Brien knew what he was doing and was capable of realizing the danger he was creating.Johnstone argued O’Brien was also impaired by cocaine, but Mastop countered by saying that the level of impairment at the time of the crash could not be specifically determined. If convicted of the negligence charges, O’Brien could face life in prison. If convicted of dangerous driving instead, he would face a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail.