By Canadian Press

Crown tells Mountie’s manslaughter trial he took risks so he could make arrest

Jun 29, 2019 | 1:36 PM

THOMPSON, Man. — A Crown prosecutor argued Thursday that a Manitoba RCMP officer accused of manslaughter was motivated by the desire to make an arrest — no matter the cost — but the defence said he was forced to shoot because he feared for his life.

Crown attorney Christian Vanderhooft said Const. Abram Letkeman made only wrong choices in the lead-up to the fatal 2015 shooting of Steven Campbell in Thompson, Man.

“He wanted to arrest this person at whatever risk. If that meant having to shoot, he was going to shoot,” Vanderhooft said during closing arguments.

The defence said it was a dangerous situation in which split-second decisions had to be made. One of Letkeman’s lawyers, Joshua Weinstein, argued the situation needs to be understood through the lens of a police officer.

“At the end of the day, our client feared for his life and ended up shooting not because he wanted to, but because he had to,” said Weinstein.

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The judge reserved his decision until Aug. 19.

Campbell, 39, was shot at least nine times. Two bullets lodged in his body — one in his jaw and another in his shoulder. Another bullet went through his open mouth.

Court has heard 12 bullet casings were found at the scene. Four passengers were in Campbell’s vehicle. His girlfriend, Lori Flett, was shot and injured.

The trial heard it all started when Letkeman, 37, saw the Jeep being driven erratically shortly after the bars in Thompson, Man., had closed.

He attempted a traffic stop, but after a few moments the Jeep drove away. The officer started to pursue it, but he did not communicate that to his supervisors.

Letkeman testified he hoped to end the pursuit by using his police car to bump the back of the Jeep, forcing it to rotate and stop. A use of force expert testified that was against protocol and training, and was extremely risky.

The Jeep ended up on a trail for all-terrain vehicles, where it lost control and stopped. That’s when Letkeman’s vehicle T-boned it.

Letkeman testified he didn’t wait for backup and walked in front of the Jeep to do a high-risk takedown. He said the Jeep started moving towards him, so he was forced to fire.

The Crown countered that the officer stood in front of the vehicle and fired so that the Jeep could not drive away, not because he was in danger.

“Nothing he did was reasonable from the word go,” Vanderhooft said.

“Each opportunity where that should have been done, the wrong decision was made. Not just wrong, negligent.”

Defence lawyer Lisa LaBossiere added that every officer has made a mistake and to convict Letkeman would have “a chilling effect” on all police.

“You wouldn’t be able to make mistakes.”

— By Kelly Geraldine Malone in Winnipeg

The Canadian Press