Sask. woman guilty of theft, assault in 2021 FreshCo incident caught on camera
CBC
A Saskatoon judge has convicted a woman of theft and assault — rejecting her claim that a loss-prevention officer at the FreshCo grocery store on 33rd Street used unnecessary force when arresting her on April 14, 2021.
Chris Murphy, the lawyer for Annette Custer, applied to have the theft and assault charges thrown out on the grounds of "excessive and gratuitous" violence applied during her arrest by security officer Cameron McMillan.
Provincial court Judge Doug Agnew reached a different conclusion.
"Ms. Custer was under arrest, was continuing to resist, had punched Mr. McMillan in the face, was attempting to escape, had in fact dragged Mr. McMillan to her car with her, had climbed inside and was attempting to insert her key in order to drive off, biting him in the process," Agnew wrote in his decision, which was delivered late last month.
"In those circumstances, the amount of force which Mr. McMillan used verged on being insufficient to accomplish the legal ends of effecting the arrest, detention and handing over of Ms. Custer."
A video of the arrest, posted online by an observer, prompted widespread outrage from Indigenous leaders and others. Custer is an Indigenous woman from the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan.
There were calls from the chief and vice-chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations to have Custer's complaint against the security guard investigated and for police to bring forth charges against the guard.
They also called for a provincewide anti-racism strategy and for mandatory Indigenous studies classes in the school system.
In his decision, Agnew noted that Custer admitted during her trial that she had gone to the grocery intending to steal food. She had hidden a roast and some cheese in her purse.
At her May 2022 trial, Custer said she took the roast and other items because her social assistance totals left her with little money to feed her family or buy gas to drive her child to school.
"She then deliberately left the store having paid for certain items, but not those concealed in her purse: those, she stole," Agnew wrote.
"Ms. Custer was aware of the possibility of there being store security. When she was stopped by Mr. McMillan upon leaving the store with the stolen merchandise, there was no suggestion of surprise on her part."
At one point, both Custer and McMillan ended up wrestling on the pavement. Custer testified during her trial that when McMillan approached her, he didn't identify himself until after he had forced her to the ground. She maintained the force he used was excessive.
But based on the evidence, Agnew disagreed.
Officials from the London, Ont., and several neighbouring counties will push the Ford government for improved passenger rail service in the region when they meet with the Ontario government at a conference in Toronto this month.
A provincial court judge has issued a stern warning to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to “rethink their approach” when it comes to dealing with complaints of threats and harassment in intimate partner relationships.
Some provincial funding targeted to struggling rural hospitals in the northeast is a boon but some CEO’s say it falls short of keeping them afloat.
A Ukrainian family in Halifax says the federal government needs to provide answers to the thousands of Ukrainians who are now learning that it could be more than 50 years before their permanent residency applications are processed.
On a cold January morning, the owners of Yassou Souvlaki & Donair in Fredericton are busy heating up the kitchen, slicing vegetables and donair meat to prepare for their lunch-hour crowd.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the CN Police Service are investigating following a train collision overnight in Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Que.
Six months after being displaced to a long-term care facility hundreds of kilometres away from his family, Jimmy Spence is holding out hope his days as an evacuee are numbered.
Saskatchewan women ages 43 and older can now sign up for mammogram screening without a doctor’s referral as part of a phased approach to get the eligibility age down to 40 by June.
Some schools, health centres and provincial civil service offices delayed opening or closed for the day on Monday due to weather conditions.
As a seasonal parking ban comes into effect on Edmonton’s residential roads this week, one councillor is concerned about how the city’s failure to fund towing teams will play out on city streets.
Students in B.C.’s biggest districts are missing significantly more school in recent years, with absences having tripled in some places, an exclusive CBC News analysis has found.
An Essex resident has been charged following a dog attack in town.
Charles Snell says he recognizes the need for more housing to be built in Thunder Bay, Ont., but that it shouldn’t come at the cost of losing green space.