Special Crown prosecutor Richard Fowler said 91裸聊视频渘o amount of hostility can justify making false statements to police91裸聊视频� in his final submissions Wednesday at former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum91裸聊视频檚 public mischief trial in Surrey provincial court.

91裸聊视频淎s a whole, it is clear that the essence of the complaint was that the running over his foot was a deliberate act that occurred after he had been pinned, to use his word, against the back of his car,91裸聊视频� Fowler said. It wasn91裸聊视频檛 a hit-and-run, Fowler argued, as driver Deborah Johnstone remained in the parking lot after her encounter with McCallum in which he alleges she purposefully ran over his foot.

91裸聊视频淎 hit-and-run is very different than a deliberate attempt to hit me,91裸聊视频� Fowler noted.

McCallum had time to think and reflect on what happened in the four hours after the incident, Fowler said. 91裸聊视频淗e had time to make sure what he told the police was going to be accurate.91裸聊视频� The 911 call, he noted, was made more than two hours later.

91裸聊视频淎nd in that two hours Mr. McCallum had gone grocery shopping, had spoken to the protesters, the people who were collecting signatures.91裸聊视频�

The former mayor is not someone without sophistication, Fowler noted. 91裸聊视频淥f course he was, he was running the city.91裸聊视频�

McCallum used the word 91裸聊视频減in91裸聊视频� more than 11 times, Fowler said. He argued that McCallum had made false statements to police that 91裸聊视频渃learly were designed to intentionally mislead them, purposefully causing someone to be suspected of having committed offences they did not commit.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淗e said she had pinned him,91裸聊视频� Fowler told the court. 91裸聊视频淭hat simply did not happen.91裸聊视频�

Fowler said McCallum91裸聊视频檚 statements to police weren91裸聊视频檛 91裸聊视频渟imply reckless hyperbole. In other words, they weren91裸聊视频檛 statements that were made in the heat of the moment, with no time to quietly reflect on what had just happened.

91裸聊视频淎 review of the CCTV video footage clearly shows that Ms. Johnstone had not committed any of the offences suggested by Mr. McCallum91裸聊视频檚 statement.91裸聊视频�

Fowler told Judge Reginald Harris that what he needs to decide is if McCallum91裸聊视频檚 was a complaint that his foot was run over, or was a complaint that his foot was deliberately run over after he was pinned to the back of his car.

91裸聊视频淚f in fact Mr. McCallum91裸聊视频檚 foot was run over, in my respectful submission he has intentionally exploited what was an obvious accident by deliberately characterizing it as something it was not,91裸聊视频� Fowler said. 91裸聊视频淭he only reasonable inference in my respectful submission is that the Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of mischief. You can be sure he made false statements, you can be sure he intended to mislead. You can be sure he causes Deborah Johnston to be suspected of commiting an offence she did not.91裸聊视频�

Before that, defence lawyer Eric Gottardi told Harris that the 91裸聊视频減rimary reason the Crown91裸聊视频檚 case has failed is in fact his foot was run over,91裸聊视频� and that it is 91裸聊视频減reposterous91裸聊视频� to suggest there was an attempt at public mischief on McCallum91裸聊视频檚 part. He asked for an acquittal.

91裸聊视频淭he Crown cannot prove that the accused communicated false information to a peace officer,91裸聊视频� Gottardi argued.

McCallum91裸聊视频檚 trial is in its second week.

He 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.

After a 13-year break from the mayor91裸聊视频檚 chair, which he occupied from 1996 to 2005, McCallum was sworn in by a judge on Nov. 5, 2018 for his fourth term as Surrey91裸聊视频檚 mayor. Brenda Locke, of Surrey Connect, defeated him for the mayor91裸聊视频檚 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 said she91裸聊视频檚 instructed city staff to that end, 91裸聊视频渁nd that they are to seek outside legal for an opinion regarding the city91裸聊视频檚 obligation.91裸聊视频�

The trial continues.

tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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