Dragging officer nets jail

A Saskatoon man who dragged a city police officer holding onto his car for more than 250 metres while fleeing a traffic stop received a six-month jail sentence and two years of probation on Tuesday.

Wesley Roger Klaasen’s family shed tears as he was taken into custody following his sentencing hearing in provincial court.

The 58-year-old pleaded guilty in September to dangerous driving and aggravated assault endangering the life of Const. Colin Boyenko, who has been unable to return to duty since the June 5 incident because of soft-tissue injuries.

"I have no doubt that you feel remorse for what you have done," Judge Barry Singer told Klaasen before agreeing to a joint sentencing submission from the Crown and defence.

"You truly did endanger his life . . . and I’m sure you appreciate that."

Boyenko stopped a westbound vehicle at around 7:40 p.m. at the intersection of Avenue B and 19th Street when he saw Klaasen’s eastbound Mazda run a red light at Avenue D, heading toward him, Crown prosecutor Janet McIvor told court.

Boyenko stepped into the street and flagged the car down. He later told investigators the Mazda "lurched forward a bit" as he approached the open window on the driver’s side. Klaasen, who was alone in the car, did not comply when Boyenko instructed him twice to turn off the ignition, McIvor said.

Instead, the car lurched forward again. As Klaasen stepped on the gas pedal, Boyenko grabbed his seatbelt with both hands, clinging to the car and trying to lift his feet off the ground to avoid being dragged under the wheels.

A technical analysis of the scene would later conclude the Mazda reached speeds as high as 98 km/h as it dragged the officer down 19th Street, then slowed to about 40 km/h as it made a right turn at the entrance to the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge — the point where Boyenko let go and skidded into the road.

Thinking he had to stop the fleeing car, Boyenko got to his feet, took out his service pistol and fired four shots at it. An internal investigation into his decision to use the weapon remains ongoing.

Police were unable to locate the Mazda immediately after the incident, which attracted local media attention. Four days later, they received an anonymous phone tip indicating the car belonged to Klaasen and was parked under a tree at the rear of a home on Poplar Crescent, McIvor told court.

The licence plate attached to the car had been cancelled the previous month by its former owner, who told police she had sold the car to Klaasen, McIvor said. Investigators found a bullet hole just below the tail light on the passenger side.

When officers approached Klaasen at his workplace, he immediately admitted being the driver, McIvor said. He had not registered the Mazda and did not have a driver’s licence at the time. In a videotaped interview with police, Klaasen said, "I had no intention of going anywhere, but I got scared," McIvor said.

Boyenko takes physiotherapy up to five times a week, sees a chiropractor twice a week and may need shoulder surgery, court heard. He also sees a counsellor for symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

"There is no comfortable way for me to sleep," the officer said in a victim impact statement, telling court the injuries to the right side of his body make even simple gestures, such as petting his dog, painful.

"Maybe you don’t realize that I’m not just a police officer," Boyenko told Klaasen, describing the impact of the incident on his family and personal life. "All of this because you didn’t want to get a couple of tickets, when you knew you weren’t supposed to be driving anyway."

Defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle told court his client’s actions on June 5 do not reflect his general character. To this day, Klaasen can’t explain why the incident happened, except to say he simply "panicked" when Boyenko pulled him over, Pfefferle said.

"Mr. Klaasen recognizes that police officers have a very difficult job to do."

Klaasen does not question Boyenko’s actions in grabbing his seatbelt or firing his pistol, and he hopes the officer’s future police career is not impeded because of what happened, Pfefferle said.