Judge rejects request for second appeal for Calgary police officer in assault case
A Calgary police officer who slammed a handcuffed woman to the ground face first has been denied another appeal of his original conviction.
Const. Alex Dunn, 36, was found guilty in December 2020 of assault causing bodily harm, and was given a 30-day conditional sentence that involved a combination of 24-hour house arrest followed by house arrest with a curfew.
Dunn had brought in Dalia Kafi in December 2017 for breaking a curfew. A security camera in the arrest area at Calgary police headquarters captured what happened.
The video played during his trial showed him throwing Kafi down and blood pooling on the ground where her face hit the floor.
Kafi died in June 2021 of a suspected overdose, days before Dunn was sentenced.
Dunn, who has been suspended without pay, appealed his conviction last year, but Justice Robert Hall upheld the lower court ruling and rejected calls by the officer's lawyer for a new trial. He found that even if provincial court Judge Michelle Christopher had believed the offender's testimony, a conviction was inevitable.
Dunn's new lawyer, Alain Hepner, appeared before an Appeal Court judge Thursday asking for permission to appeal Hall's decision.
He argued the original judge was too quick in dismissing the credibility of Dunn's testimony, in which he said he thought Kafi had slipped out of her handcuffs and posed a threat.
"It is a case where the trial judge, in a way, sort of boxed herself in by making these credibility findings to the point where she deals with the credibility of all the Crown witnesses and, in short, seems to lay or put on Mr. Dunn a heavy onus _ almost reversing the onus of proof,'' Hepner said.
"I submit that Mr. Justice Hall just followed the line of the narrative by the trial judge without addressing any leave issues.''
However, Court of Appeal Justice Anne Kirker refused Hepner's request.
"The applicant has failed to satisfy me that the test for permission to appeal ? is met and, accordingly, I must dismiss the application,'' she ruled.
"The trial judge's assessment of the evidence and credibility findings are entitled to deference and there's no suggestion that the summary conviction appeal judge applied the wrong standard of review here.''
The Court of Appeal is expected to hear further arguments on the case next year as the Crown has appealed the 30-day conditional sentence given to Dunn.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.