An off-duty RCMP officer was guilty of assault when he knocked out a man in a roadside altercation in Summerland more than two years ago, a judge ruled Monday.
Cpl. Andre Turcotte sat emotionless in Penticton provincial court as Judge Dev Dley brought down his verdict following a trial that had wrapped up Feb. 4.
The judge rejected Turcotte‘s assertion that he acted in self-defence when he became embroiled in a scuffle with Scott Campbell on the night of Nov. 29, 2007.
Campbell was a passenger in a northbound Acura Integra that Turcotte claimed had almost run him off Highway 97 south of Trout Creek a few minutes earlier.
Dley pointed to the testimony of the occupants of a passing car who stopped at the scene. They said they saw Turcotte repeatedly punching Campbell outside the vehicle. Two of the witnesses said they also saw Turcotte kick Campbell as he lay on the ground.
Campbell suffered a suspected concussion and sore ribs in the confrontation.
“The issue in this case is the reliability of the evidence,” Dley said.
The judge said there were several inconsistencies in Turcotte‘s testimony and that of Kim Lam, owner of the Sumac Ridge golf course, who was a passenger in Turcotte‘s car. He rejected the defendant‘s claim that he did not flash his badge or tell Campbell he was a police officer.
Dley also wondered why Turcotte didn‘t acknowledge he had been involved in an altercation when a fellow Summerland RCMP officer commented about the assault the next day.
“He wanted to conceal his involvement and escape liability,” Dley said.
During the trial, Turcotte said he feared for his life after almost being forced into Okanagan Lake by the passing car, which he estimated was travelling up to 160 km/h.
He later caught up with the vehicle, which had stopped at the traffic signal at Highway 97 and Prairie Valley Road. He claimed the male passenger gave him the middle finger and later, as both cars were in motion, rolled down his window and leaned out, gesturing for him to pull over, while pretending to shoot him with both hands extended like guns.
Turcotte said the Acura later suddenly slowed down in front of him, forcing him to respond by flashing his high beams. Both cars eventually pulled over near the
entrance to Sumac Ridge.
Turcotte said the man got out of the car and came up to his vehicle. He got out, and the man pushed him on the shoulders, at which point Turcotte responded by grabbing the other man‘s upper arms.
Turcotte said he punched him twice in the elbow in an unsuccessful attempt to force him to let go. Hearing his jacket rip, Turcotte said he punched the man once in the face, which by then was partially covered by his hoodie. He denied kicking and repeatedly striking the man.
He drove off as the third car arrived, suggesting he was afraid the woman driving the Acura had called friends on her cellphone.
Turcotte declined comment following the verdict. He will be sentenced at a later date.
The RCMP officer, who now serves at the force‘s regional office in Kelowna, also faces charges of assault and unlawful confinement in a unrelated incident while making an arrest outside a Summerland pub on Aug. 17, 2007. Top of Page
