No time behind bars for university security guard who killed B.C. man with neck restraint

A B.C. university security guard who killed a man by using a neck restraint four years ago won’t spend time behind bars.

Jack Cruthers Hutchison was convicted of manslaughter in April for the death of Howard Hill.

On Friday he was sentenced to an 18-month conditional sentence, to be served in the community with a curfew.

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The fatal altercation took place on Sept. 30, 2020 at Trinity Western University in Langley. Hill, who was not a student, was seen wandering on campus and rifling through students’ rooms.

When Hutchison identified himself as security and ordered Hill to stop, the man fled. Hutchison tackled hill and put him in a neck restraint until police arrived. He was transported to hospital unconscious and later died.

Justice Catherine Murray rejected Hutchison’s defence the death was an accident, but in her reasons for sentencing she accepted he didn’t know he was pressing on Hill’s vitals and that he believed he was performing a safe headlock.

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“This is a very challenging sentencing. On the one hand, it is difficult to comprehend that a man could cause another man to lose his life and not go to jail. But on the other hand, I find that Mr. Hutchison acted in the heat of the moment, motivated only to protect himself and others as was his duty as a security guard,” Murray wrote.

“He does not pose a danger to others. He is not a violent man. He is an upstanding member of the community. He adds value to the community. There is no need to protect the community from Mr. Hutchison. In fact, the community is a better place with him in it.”

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Murray went on to say no sentence she could hand down would be harder on Hutchison than living with Hill’s death, adding that was of good character and there was no need to rehabilitate him or to deter him from future criminal acts.

Instead, she said, the primary consideration in her sentence was to deter others from repeating his mistake.

“This sentence must send a message to others that neck restraints must be used sparingly and with caution,” Murray concluded.

Murray ruled that probation alone would not set a strong enough deterrent and that a conditional sentence — which is technically a jail sentence, though can be served in the community subject to conditions — was more appropriate.

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“I stress that this conclusion is in no way a reflection on the value of Glen Hill’s life. He was a good man whose life mattered. Sending Mr. Hutchison to jail will not bring Mr. Hill back, nor will it heal the wounds of those who cared about him,” Murray wrote.

Under the terms of his sentence, Hutchison is banned from possessing firearms for 10 years, must submit a DNA sample and must pay a victim surcharge.

He must maintain good behaviour, stay within B.C., and report to a corrections supervisor. He is also banned from consuming alcohol or recreational drugs, must keep to a curfew of midnight and 6 a.m. and perform 120 hours of community service.

Murray also recommended that Hutchison’s community service be dedicated to educating security personnel on the dangers of neck restraints.