Denzel Dre Colton Bird, 20, made his first court appearance at the Lethbridge Courthouse Friday morning. Bird appeared in person, but had his case quickly adjourned. He is charged with several serious charges in relation to the vicious attack of a 25-year-old Lethbridge woman on Sept. 30, including attempted murder and sexual assault with a weapon.
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The court heard from lawyer Greg White, who acted as agent for Bird, that the accused was in the process of retaining White as council.
White said he is quite concerned with the way Lethbridge police presented Bird at the police station after his arrest.
“They have secure bays there, they didn’t have to do what’s traditionally called a perp walk,” White said. “Everybody in Canada is presumed innocent and by doing the perp walk, with respect, they may be violating his right to be presumed innocent, at least in the eyes of the public.”
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White told Global News that he is apprehensive that the actions could affect a trial in months to come.
“When you take somebody before they’ve had a chance to hire a lawyer and even be in court, and walk them in front of the media… I’m concerned that one it’s a violation of his constitutional rights and number two it inflames any potential jury pool that might hear his case in the future,” said White.
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Bird remains in custody and will make his next court appearance, via closed circuit television from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre on Oct. 20.