Former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum found not guilty of public mischief
CBC
A provincial court judge has found Doug McCallum, the former mayor of Surrey, B.C., not guilty of public mischief.
The 78-year-old was accused of lying to police in September 2021 by falsely accusing a political opponent of deliberately running over his foot after she confronted him in a supermarket parking lot.
In his decision, Judge Reginald Harris said he believed the medical and physical evidence proved that Debi Johnstone ran over McCallum's foot.
He also found that errors in McCallum's statement were likely the result of "distorted memory" as a result of shock.
In a verdict that took a little more than an hour to read, Harris said he concluded McCallum lacked motive to get revenge on an irritating opponent by concocting a story meant to see her be investigated for an offence she did not commit.
"In my view, his statements reflect reasonable perceptions and not evidence capable of supporting an inference of misconduct," Harris said.
"For the above reasons, I find Mr. McCallum not guilty."
Outside the court after the verdict, McCallum said he was "very pleased" with the outcome. He read a brief statement thanking his family and said, "to the people of Surrey, I love you."
He refused to take any questions.
McCallum was charged with public mischief under a section of the Criminal Code that makes it an offence to lie to police in order to see someone accused of a crime they did not commit.
The charge arose from a chance encounter on Sept. 4, when Johnstone spotted the former mayor walking toward the grocery store as she manoeuvred her open-top convertible Mustang through the parking lot.
Johnstone is a member of a group that opposed McCallum's plans to replace Surrey's RCMP detachment with a municipal police force.
On the stand, she claimed she shouted, "resign, McCallum," after seeing the former mayor, and then launched into a profane tirade when he walked over to her car.
It's at that point McCallum's and Johnstone's stories diverged.
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