A Kelowna RCMP officer received an absolute discharge in court Tuesday after having been previously found guilty.
Cst. Christopher Brinnen was convicted of common assault for an ‘on-duty’ incident in February 2010.
The conviction stemmed from an incident where the Mountie exchanged obscene gestures and angry words with Kyle Nelson outside a Kelowna nightclub.
Brinnen chased Nelson down an alleyway and punched him in face.
During the 2010 trial Nelson said he was hit for no reason.
“I stopped, turned, put hands up and said, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ That’s when he took four steps towards me and punched me right in the face. He put me in headlock. I said, ‘What you doing, you a cop?’ He says, ‘I’m not a normal [expletive] cop,” described Nelson.
Before being sentenced Tuesday afternoon, Brinnen told the judge he was sorry.
“I do want to apologize for my decisions that night. I don’t want to let this incident define my career for me. I do want to apologize to everyone involved,” said Cst. Brinnen
The apology played in his favor with the judge.
As did the amount of media coverage the case received and the anger management and conflict resolution courses Brinnen has taken since the incident.
The judge granted the constable an absolute discharge which means there will be no punishment whatsoever and, more importantly for a police officer, no criminal record.
Kyle Nelson was at work Tuesday but his mother was in the courtroom for the sentencing decision.
Heather Nelson says she is disappointed.
“I liked the Crown’s suggestion of probation and community service, something along that line,” said Nelson.
She added, “I mean he apologized to his family. I never heard any apology to Kyle. Maybe he’s sorry he got caught.”
Brinnen’s defense lawyer admitted his surprise with the granting of an absolute discharge.
Neville McDougall said, “It might have been a case where I thought conditional discharge, with mandatory conditions. But I’m very happy with the absolute discharge.”
Following the judge’s decision Cst. Brinnen left through a back door of the courthouse.
He declined public comment.
Cst. Christopher Brinnen still faces an internal RCMP disciplinary hearing.
His lawyer says RCMP management wants to dock him three days pay.
Cst. Christopher Brinnen was convicted of common assault for an ‘on-duty’ incident in February 2010.
The conviction stemmed from an incident where the Mountie exchanged obscene gestures and angry words with Kyle Nelson outside a Kelowna nightclub.
Brinnen chased Nelson down an alleyway and punched him in face.
During the 2010 trial Nelson said he was hit for no reason.
“I stopped, turned, put hands up and said, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ That’s when he took four steps towards me and punched me right in the face. He put me in headlock. I said, ‘What you doing, you a cop?’ He says, ‘I’m not a normal [expletive] cop,” described Nelson.
Before being sentenced Tuesday afternoon, Brinnen told the judge he was sorry.
“I do want to apologize for my decisions that night. I don’t want to let this incident define my career for me. I do want to apologize to everyone involved,” said Cst. Brinnen
The apology played in his favor with the judge.
As did the amount of media coverage the case received and the anger management and conflict resolution courses Brinnen has taken since the incident.
The judge granted the constable an absolute discharge which means there will be no punishment whatsoever and, more importantly for a police officer, no criminal record.
Kyle Nelson was at work Tuesday but his mother was in the courtroom for the sentencing decision.
Heather Nelson says she is disappointed.
“I liked the Crown’s suggestion of probation and community service, something along that line,” said Nelson.
She added, “I mean he apologized to his family. I never heard any apology to Kyle. Maybe he’s sorry he got caught.”
Brinnen’s defense lawyer admitted his surprise with the granting of an absolute discharge.
Neville McDougall said, “It might have been a case where I thought conditional discharge, with mandatory conditions. But I’m very happy with the absolute discharge.”
Following the judge’s decision Cst. Brinnen left through a back door of the courthouse.
He declined public comment.
Cst. Christopher Brinnen still faces an internal RCMP disciplinary hearing.
His lawyer says RCMP management wants to dock him three days pay.
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