March 29th, 2024

Spearchief has fine reduced


By Shurtz, Delon on June 15, 2020.

Delon Shurtz

lethbridge herald

dshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A southern Alberta man has been fined for causing a disturbance in Galt Gardens last September, when he challenged a police officer to a fight.

Jonathan Spearchief was drinking with others at a picnic table in the downtown park in the afternoon when an officer approached the group and advised them not to drink in public. They put their alcohol away, but Spearchief confronted the officer and began yelling, screaming and shouting “vile things about police.”

Spearchief pleaded guilty Friday in Lethbridge provincial court to one count of causing a disturbance for which the Crown and defence recommended a $750 fine.

Crown Prosecutor Bruce Ainscough told court the officer asked Spearchief during the incident to keep his voice down so as not to disturb other people using the park, including children. Spearchief responded by taking a “boxing stance” as if to challenge the officer to a fight. He was warned to behave or he would be arrested. He refused to comply with the officer’s directions, became more agitated, and was arrested.

“It’s obvious he disturbed a lot of people,” Lethbridge lawyer Claudia Connolly said.

Judge Jerry LeGrandeur agreed Spearchief caused a disturbance, but even though he was aggressive toward the officer, his actions did not warrant a $750 fine.

“How’s he going to pay that?” he asked counsel. “It’s a lot of money.”

Although Connolly said Spearchief has a job, LeGrandeur fined him $300 and pointed out that in addition to the fine, his record will include another conviction.

Spearchief also faces one charge of assault. He returns to court on that charge today.

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Citi Zen

I guess this means that a person who can indeed afford the $750 fine should be required to pay it? The courts are very biased.

ewingbt

What happened to community service? Maybe he could have worked it off working shifts cleaning up the mess left behind on the streets and around businesses by the homeless and addicts!

These type of incidents are not unique and something police, CPO’s, the Watch and security face on a regular basis, but if you are a First Nations person, very little is done, as we see in this fine example.

It is the norm for FN men and women being out in society, waiting for court dates, and committing crimes while they wait. It is the norm for them to get ‘slaps on the wrist’. In one case I am familiar with, a FN man had only been released for 4 hours and was already assaulting a front line worker.

Nothing deters them! They get sent to jail and become addicted to drugs, ‘IN JAIL’! There are so many things we need to change! Jail is supposed to rehabilitate, not turn people into addicts! When they get out they have to commit crimes to support their addiction!

WE NEED TO MAKE CHANGES!

WE are part of the problem!

Changes need to be done in the enforcement, judicial, penal and addiction treatment systems. We are blowing hundreds of millions of dollars on systems that no longer are working.
The Gladue Principle gives special treatment to FN, lighter sentences in the courts! Ottawa orders police and courts to go easy on FN because ‘they are over represented in jails! Maybe they should stop committing the crimes, because they are also over represented committing crimes, especially in Lethbridge.

Many are banished from their own FN communities! We can’t banish them from Lethbridge, but we should be able to enforce the law and treat FN’s the same as every other citizen.

ALL LIVES MATTER! ALL SHOULD BE TREATED EQUAL UNDER THE LAW, AS THE CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS STATES.
RICH, POOR, BLACK, BROWN, OLIVE, WHITE, ETC. . . . ALL SHOULD BE TREATED EQUAL!

What is wrong with the whole system is treating various groups as ‘special’ and giving them special treatment! This spawns diviseness and is fracturing society into various ‘special’ groups that demand even more special treatment. We are destroying a great country!

No one should be treated any different!

Citi Zen

Ewingbt, if what you say “RICH, POOR, BLACK, BROWN, OLIVE, WHITE, ETC. . . . ALL SHOULD BE TREATED EQUAL!” were true,, I would instantly be wealthy, as I’d be in line for the $$$ Billions that Trudeau gives to the FN people on a regular basis. And I wouldn’t even have to work for it!