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Friday, January 28, 2022

Man sentenced to five years for death of Calgary police officer during traffic stop - Calgary Herald

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The passenger in the SUV which dragged Calgary police Sgt. Andrew Harnett to his death during a routine New Year’s Eve traffic stop in 2020 was handed a five-year prison term Friday.

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And his lawyer said outside court that should be the last the justice system sees of Amir Abdulrahman.

Defence counsel Balfour Der said while Abdulrahman was on a poor life path at the time, the death of Harnett has opened his eyes.

“He is a remarkably changed person in terms of his understanding of the justice system, his respect for the justice system and the police,” Der said, after Justice Robert Hall ordered Abdulrahman to serve a five-year penitentiary term.

Hall said with credit for so-called dead time on remand, the Calgary man will have to serve about another three years and five months.

Der said he doesn’t expect a sentence appeal as his client has acknowledged his wrongdoing and is remorseful for what happened.

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“He was hanging with a bad crowd when this occurred. I don’t expect that his shadow will ever darken the doorstep of a courthouse ever again.”

Abdulrahman, 20, pleaded guilty in December to a reduced charge of manslaughter in connection with the Dec. 31, 2020 death of Harnett, who was dragged more than 400 metres along the side of a vehicle he’d pulled over for inadequate headlights. Abdulrahman had been charged with first-degree murder.

When a fellow officer attempted to arrest Abdulrahman, who was in the front passenger seat, on outstanding warrants the vehicle took off with Harnett clinging to the driver’s side door.

During the incident, Abdulrahman grabbed the steering wheel on three occasions before the officer  lost his grip and as a result, his life, when struck by an oncoming car.

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While Crown prosecutor Mike Ewenson, who proposed an eight-to nine-year prison term, suggested Abdulrahman’s culpability was high, Hall found the offender’s conduct to be more spontaneous than well thought out.

“The Crown tendered no evidence that Mr. Abdulrahman was involved in the initial decision to flee,” Hall said.

Edmonton police officers pay their respects after taking part in a parade around Falconridge. Flowers mark the location where Sgt. Andrew Harnett was killed.
Edmonton police officers pay their respects after taking part in a parade around Falconridge. Flowers mark the location where Sgt. Andrew Harnett was killed. Photo by Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia

“I … find that Mr Abdulrahman was a minor participant in the flight.”

Outside court, Ewenson acknowledged not knowing what occurred in the vehicle while Abdulrahman, the youth driver and an unknown male in the rear seat awaited Harnett to issue a ticket, hindered the Crown’s case.

Body worn cameras of the incident captured one individual yelling “go, go, go,” but that could not be attributed to Abdulrahman.

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“Anything that could have proven that he uttered those words, or the ultimate reason for the flight from the traffic stop, may have been treated as aggravating, but of course we have to base our decision and our advocacy on the evidence and sometimes there are cases where there are unknowns,” Ewenson said.

  1. Calgary Police Service Sgt. Andrew Harnett, 37, was killed during a routine traffic stop on Dec. 31, 2020.

    Adult suspect pleads guilty to reduced charge in roadside death of Sgt. Andrew Harnett

  2. Pictured is Calgary Police Service Sgt. Andrew Harnett, 37, who was struck by a vehicle fleeing a traffic stop in northeast Calgary. Despite the efforts of his colleagues and members of EMS, Harnett died as a result of his injuries.

    Teen accused in death of Calgary police officer appears briefly in court

  3. Calgary Police Service Sgt. Andrew Harnett, 37, was killed during a routine traffic stop on Dec. 31, 2020.

    Suspected driver in traffic-stop death of Calgary police sergeant seeks release just weeks before murder trial

“Right now I can tell you that there’s an individual out in the community who was in the back seat who has not cooperated and we still don’t know who that is.”

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At Abdulrahman’s sentencing hearing in December, court heard a compelling victim impact statements from Harnett’s widow, Chelsea Goedhart, who was pregnant with their only child at the time of his death.

“I lost the love of my life, my best friend, my travel partner, my confidante, my steady anchor, my cheerleader and my companion and the parent of our child,” Goedhart said in her statement to the court.

“Because of the criminal actions of Mr. Abdulrahman, the joy of my pregnancy was stolen. We were never going to get to be a family.

“My son’s innocence was taken before he was born.”

The trial of the alleged driver begins Monday.

KMartin@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @KMartinCourts

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    Man sentenced to five years for death of Calgary police officer during traffic stop - Calgary Herald
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