Former Kelowna trucker awarded $300K after being tasered by cops
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A former Kelowna truck driver, who was tasered by two RCMP officers after being awoken while sleeping in the back of his cab, has been awarded $317,000 in damages.
According to a recently published March 31 Supreme Court of BC decision, the two RCMP officers involved should not have tasered Bradley Marvin Degen after they received a report that a semi-truck was idling outside a lumber yard in Surrey.
The decision says following the complaint the two officers — RCMP Const. Jonathan Perkins and RCMP Const. Sven Spoljar — arrived at the truck at roughly 9:30 p.m. on a July evening in 2016.
Degen was sleeping in the sleeping area behind the seats of the vehicle with the engine idling to run the air conditioning unit in the cab.
The officers knocked on the windows of the semi and pointed their flashlights at the cab of the truck.
Degen testified that he got up and rolled the window down a few inches.
The officers said they'd had a report he was intoxicated but Degen testified that he told the officers "You guys got the wrong guy" and "I'm going back to bed." He admitted he might have also told them to "fuck off."
At this point, both windows were smashed and Degen was then punched and tasered by both officers.
He was arrested and charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer and one count of obstruction of justice. He spent the night in a cell before being released after a court appearance later the following day. The Crown later stayed the charges against him.
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He then sued the RCMP and the case went to a four-week trial. Multiple doctors testified at the trial regarding Degan's medical issues, along with friends, police officers and Degen's ex-spouse.
In an exceptionally lengthy 42,000-word decision Justice David Crossin parsed through the often contradictory evidence given by the parties throughout the trial.
Vancouver Police Insp. Jeffrey Harris testified that neither officer had reasonable grounds to begin using force as there was no risk Degen was going anywhere.
However, the Justice disagreed.
"In my view, some urgency had developed, communication was fruitless. The use of force in breaking the window was dramatic, but I conclude necessary," the Justice said.
But the Justice ruled the amount of force wasn't OK.
"I am not persuaded that the use of (a taser) was proportionate to the threat of a closed fist strike from (Degen). In coming to this conclusion, I am aware of the need for police to react quickly to situations. However, the level of force used in this circumstance was, in my view, disproportionate to the perceived threat. The officers had already gained access to the cab of the truck. (Degen) was accessible."
The Justice ruled Degen hadn't been left with a mild traumatic brain injury or suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as he had argued.
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Ultimately, the justice awarded $317,120 to cover the loss of past and future wages as well as compensate for pain, suffering, and disability.
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