Image Credit: FILE PHOTO

PENTICTON - A Hedley man was found guilty in Penticton court today of an assault on an RCMP officer that included a bite on the arm.

Bremner Lance, 41, appeared in Penticton Supreme Court today, June 22, on charges of uttering threats and assaulting a peace officer in connection to a Sept. 16, 2016 incident in Hedley. Lance had pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this year.

Judge Kathleen Ker recounted the circumstances of the incident, which began with Princeton RCMP being called to Hedley on a complaint of a motorist driving erratically in the community and doing burnouts on the bridge.

Two officers arrived in separate cruisers and located a vehicle roughly matching the description parked the wrong way on a street. The driver was not at the scene, and as one officer drove off to try and locate the vehicle owner, the second officer, Const. Kendal Oliver, investigated the vehicle, an older model pickup truck.

Ker said as Oliver was investigating the truck, Lance returned to the scene, taking offence when Oliver said the vehicle was going to be towed. Oliver’s questions about ownership of the truck were largely ignored by Lance, who continued advancing on the officer in spite of attempts on the Oliver’s part to de-escalate the situation.

Lance claimed he had heard rumours about Oliver and didn't trust the officer.

Court heard Oliver eventually reached for his can of pepper spray, at which point Lance allegedly said, “If you spray me with that, you’re dead.”

Lance told the court he had been pepper sprayed once before outside a Penticton nightclub while defending a friend, and found it a very painful experience he did not wish to endure again, but denied making a threat against Oliver.

Lance attacked as Oliver discharged the bear spray. In the scuffle that ensued, the officer suffered cuts and abrasions to his head and a bite to his right forearm before the second officer returned to the scene, using his baton to subdue Lance, who was arrested on a charge of assault.

A brief cellphone video of the incident and eyewitness accounts from two Hedley residents failed to back up Lance’s argument he acted in self-defence of himself and his property.

Ker recounted in Lance’s testimony he said he backed off from the officer, attempting to de-escalate the confrontation and denied threatening the officer when Oliver reached for his pepper spray.

One of the eyewitness accounts called Lance’s advance on the officer “menacing” and “not friendly,” telling court she couldn’t understand at the time why Lance was advancing in such a way on Oliver.

The judge did not find evidence beyond reasonable doubt Lance made the threat against Oliver, dismissing the charge of uttering threats against him.

Judge Ker did, however find Lance’s evidence inconsistent with witness and video accounts of the incident. Calling him intoxicated and angry as he approached his truck, she found his conduct “not reasonable” in the circumstances.

She found Lance to be the aggressor, saying he could have stopped his advance or retreated rather than engaging Oliver, finding him guilty of assaulting a peace officer.

Defence lawyer Don Skogstad requested a pre-sentence report for his client. The case was adjourned until Aug. 27 at which time a date for sentencing will be scheduled.

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