EDMONTON SUN
An Edmonton lawyer is upset that a Calgary prosecutor did not counter the good character evidence presented at a sentencing for a city cop who used a stun gun on a jaywalker.
Tom Engel charged the prosecutor knew about Const. Aubrey Zalaski having been earlier admonished by the Law Enforcement Review Board for using excessive force in hitting a 17-year-old girl during a Whyte Avenue scuffle.
Yet, he did not tell the sentencing judge about it after Zalaski’s defence lawyer told the court Zalaski was a “rising star” with the city police who had never had any problems as a beat cop both downtown and on Whyte Avenue.
“Why did the Crown not put evidence before the court to show that Zalaski had used excessive force in the past on a 17-year-old girl?” asked Engel.
“It’s yet another concern we have about how the Calgary Crown prosecutor’s office handles files involving Edmonton police.”
The controversial lawyer, who is often at loggerheads with city police, also said there have been a high number of discharges given to convicted police officers in the past and judges need to treat these cases more seriously.
Zalaski was one of two constables admonished by the LERB in 2003 for using excessive force during a June 1998 scuffle between three cops, real estate agent Maurice Durand and his teenage daughter at a Whyte Avenue bar.
Durand was in the bar with his daughter, celebrating her high school graduation, when police walked in to check for underage drinkers. The teen, who lied about her age, was taken outside and her father went with her.
Durand became irate and the incident turned physical when officers tried to arrest him for causing a disturbance. During the melee, Zalaski was hit from behind by the girl as he was wrestling her dad to the ground and gave the teen a stun blow to the head to knock her away.
The LERB also scolded all three officers involved in the incident for failing to make proper disclosure, noting they took no notes and completed brief reports.
The LERB’s decision was later overturned by the Court of Appeal on a technicality regarding jurisdiction.
Then, the three officers went before an internal disciplinary hearing and were cleared when the Calgary police inspector presenting the case called no evidence.
An appeal of that decision is still before the LERB.
Durand, who is represented by Engel, has also filed a $1.2-million lawsuit against police.
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