An Alberta judge handed a Langley realtor a 16-month conditional sentence and a three-year driving ban for dragging an RCMP officer trying to pull him over at a traffic stop.
David Foxwell, who works out of the Aldergrove area, was convicted earlier this fall of assaulting a peace officer, two counts of resisting a peace officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, impaired driving, and refusing to provide a breath sample in a court on Leduc.
The first year of Foxwell’s conditional sentence is partial house arrest. He can only leave his home for work and essential appointments such as seeing a doctor, to perform 100 hours of community service, and for a maximum of four hours per week for grocery shopping and other essential errands.
Foxwell is also banned from drinking for the duration of the conditional sentence.
For a further four months, he is under lighter conditions, with a curfew between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
For the three driving-related offences, Foxwell was sentenced to a three-year driving prohibition, one year for each count.
In addition, Foxwell has been fined $4,500 for the motor vehicle offences.
Foxwell, who volunteered with several local non-profits before his arrest, was charged after a Dec. 15, 2021 incident when members of the Leduc RCMP Integrated Traffic Unit tried to pull him over.
Const. Jason Leasa saw Foxwell’s Hyundai Elantra roll through a stop sign.
Foxwell, instead of pulling over when he saw the flashing lights on top of Leasa’s cruiser, pulled into a left-turn bay at an intersection. Leasa testified that when he approached Foxwell’s window the Elantra was not in park.
Leasa repeatedly told Foxwell to put the car in park and asked to see his license and insurance papers. When Leasa said he would need a breath sample, Foxwell started rolling away from the stop.
“Where are you going?” Leasa exclaimed, according to an audio recording of the event. “Put it in park, you f——— idiot.”
“I’m trying to get off the road,” Foxwell replied.
Leasa reached inside the car and tried to put the vehicle in park himself, but Foxwell kept driving, with Leasa hanging out the window. He drove for about 200 metres, at a speed of about 45 km/h, before coming to a halt, when the vehicle of a civilian bystander pulled in front of the car.
Leasa suffered severe bruising to his forearm, right armpit, and upper rib cage, and one finger was briefly dislocated. Foxwell was arrested at the scene.
Justice Rice of the Alberta Court of Justice case called Foxwell’s testimony during the trial “incredible,” “disingenuous,” and “internally inconsistent.”
However, he also noted that any sentence would be reduced because police violated Foxwell’s Charter rights after his arrest.
Foxwell was kept in police detention 22 hours after his bail hearing, despite having the ability to post bail, which the judge found was “grossly disproportionate to the objectives of the criminal law.”
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