'I could not believe what happened,' cop who shot fellow officer tells court
A Niagara police officer who shot a fellow cop during an altercation nearly three years ago told his colleague's assault trial that he found their interaction so implausible he feared nobody would believe what happened.
Det.-Sgt. Shane Donovan testified Wednesday at the trial of Const. Nathan Parker, who has pleaded not guilty to assault with intent to resist arrest, assaulting a police officer and assault with a weapon.
Donovan told the court that Parker assaulted him during a collision investigation in November 2018, pushing him hard enough to cause bruising and pulling out his baton and firearm. Donovan said he then shot Parker several times, including once in the torso.
"I could not believe what had happened and I expected no one else would believe it," Donovan told the court.
Donovan said he asked a bystander if he had video, hoping there was evidence of what transpired.
Court heard that the bystander didn't have video, so Donovan asked him to stay and watch so he could be a witness.
"I wanted witnesses to what was happening ... because I had just shot a person, another police officer, so I want everyone to see what happened so if anything else went wrong, I've got evidence," he said.
Donovan said he asked the bystander -- a man who lived near the Pelham, Ont., site where the altercation and shooting occurred -- to take note of the position of Parker's baton and Donovan's lanyard.
"It shows the movement of what happened," he explained. "If an officer comes and picks it up, it changes the scene. If someone kicks it, it changes the evidence of what happened."
Donovan told the court he was concerned about the integrity of the scene, and didn't leave until more officers arrived for fear evidence might be moved, despite the other officer's protests.
"I think just being there was enough to provoke him," Donovan said. "...He was constantly yelling."
The Special Investigations Unit initially charged Donovan as well, but those charges were dropped when, his lawyer said, prosecutors found there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.
In cross-examination on Wednesday, Parker's lawyer suggested Donovan was biased against his colleague.
"The reason you did not give police Const. Parker your cell number personally is because you had formed the opinion ... the less you talked to him the better," Joseph Markson posited.
Donovan denied that, saying he thought Parker already had his number and that he would have spoken to his colleague if necessary, but that he had tried to avoid it.
"He was not approachable, and I didn't want to have any issues," Donovan said. "I left it at that."
The trial continues Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.