It’s hard to fault the palpable frustration of Metro Vancouver Transit Police, who are clearly amazed that Daon Gordon Glasgow dodged an attempted murder conviction despite shooting one of their own, twice.
Glasgow pulled the trigger of a 9mm handgun twice, putting a bullet into Constable Josh Harms’ right arm and another into his left hand, on the platform of Surrey’s Scott Road SkyTrain station on Jan. 30, 2019. It resulted in a Hollywood-style manhunt that few will soon forget.
Judge Peder Gulbransen found Glasgow panicked and that the Crown hadn’t proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the fugitive had it in his mind to kill the officer. Many people are upset with the decision.
READ ALSO: Glasgow found not guilty of trying to murder transit cop in Surrey
In truth, a judge must construe according to the law, basing his or her decision on the case the Crown presents. Still, that’s got to be some spectacularly rigorous standard of proof.
The transit cops make the case that if someone points a gun at someone and pulls the trigger twice, how can that not been attempted murder? Harms thanked God his injuries were not worse. He got that right – a little to the left, or to the right, and he might be a dead man today.
This constable, and many like him, put themselves in danger’s way to protect the public from criminals who charge around on public transit and city streets with loaded guns. Much in the way that they have our back, these officers have to know that someone has theirs too.
As some have pointed out, in the wake of this court decision, what really is the point of all this turmoil in Surrey about who has the job of policing in this city – the Surrey RCMP, or a Surrey Police Service – if the courts are so lenient as to render decisions that, to so many people, beyond a reasonable doubt, defy common sense?
– Now-Leader
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