An RCMP dog handler was found not guilty Tuesday of all charges related to a takedown in Prince George caught on a nearby security camera 7 1/2 years ago and for which he was accused of using excessive force.
Cst. Joshua Grafton had been facing one count each of assault, assault with a weapon and obstruction of justice from an early-morning Feb. 18, 2016, arrest of two men caught driving a stolen pickup truck.
In issuing his verdict, Provincial Court Judge Peter McDermick found Grafton was involved in a high-risk apprehension when he used his dog to pull one of the men, Cuyler Aubichon, out of the driver's side of a stolen pickup truck and take him to the ground.
Over the course of a 52-second encounter, Grafton struck Aubichon seven times. Of particular concern, the final two were to the suspect's head as he laid face down on the icy surface of an alleyway in the VLA where police had boxed in the vehicle.
However, McDermick found the escalation of force was necessary, proportionate and reasonable given Aubichon's failure to show both his hands to police.
Almost as soon as the dog was able to grab hold of the arm, it let go at Grafton's command so he could be handcuffed, the judge noted. Injuries to Aubichon, including those from the dog gripping his arm, turned out to be superficial, although McDermick stressed that played only a minor role in his determination.
"It was critical to everyone's safety to take control and resolve the situation," McDermick said. "Police actions should not be judged against a standard of perfection and police should not be expected to measure the force used with exactitude."
The obstruction count centred on discrepancies between Grafton's post-arrest report, created some 3 1/2 hours after the event and in advance of a bail hearing, and what was shown on the video.
In particular, Grafton failed to mention the number of times he struck Aubichon and that the suspect refused to pull his right hand from beneath his body. Drugs were later found stuffed down Aubichon's pants, the court has heard.
Crown alleged Grafton omitted the information because he was the subject of another investigation from a September 2015 arrest in which the suspect suffered skull fractures, a broken jaw, puncture wounds, and other injuries.
When he testified on his own behalf, Grafton said he did not mention the strikes because he felt they amounted to "soft strikes" and so did not need to be reported under police policy. McDermick disagreed with Grafton's interpretation but found the oversight was not enough to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Grafton specifically intended to deceive.
The trial on the matter occupied 50 days and it took McDermick slightly more than two hours to read out his verdict. Some 40 police officers, many wearing green emergency response team fatigues, filled the back seats of the courtroom gallery to take in the decision.
Two other RCMP officers were charged in relation to the apprehension of the other man in the pickup truck but the counts were stayed.
Video from the incident prompted an outcry notably from the B.C. Civil Liberties Association after it was provided to television stations in the Lower Mainland. In turn, the National Police Federation was critical of the 4 1/2 years it took to approve charges.
"My client is grateful for the careful, detailed consideration of the evidence and the law afforded him by the judge and is grateful, after seven-and-a-half years to be absolved, acquitted and vindicated of all his actions in a very high-risk and dangerous situation as clearly found by the judge," Grafton's lawyer Ravi Hira said.
