A Nova Scotia judge who acquitted a former RCMP officer of assault and weapons charges says in a written decision that there was reasonable doubt in the case.
Judge Ronda van der Hoek acquitted Asad Mari of all charges in Kentville, N.S., provincial court on Oct. 21, and her written decision was released Thursday.
Mari had been charged with assault, pointing a firearm, and careless storage of a firearm in connection with allegations from a former girlfriend that she was assaulted during an incident in August 2018.
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In the decision, the judge says Brittany Sanford also alleged that Mari would brandish his service revolver and point it at her, and that he stored the gun in a bedroom dresser without a lock box or trigger lock.
Mari denied all of the charges.
Van der Hoek says she was left unsure as to whether an assault occurred based on the individual testimony in the case, and she found Sanford’s testimony about Mari’s service revolver “lacking in both credibility and reliability” because she described it as black when it was silver with a black grip.
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The judge said she was “troubled” by photos showing bruises on Sanford, but remained unsure as to how and when she sustained them.
“I cannot say the bruises on their own lead to proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Van der Hoek. “Mr. Mari says he did not cause them and I cannot reject his evidence in that regard.”
She said she was also unable to say that the Crown had discharged its “heavy burden” to prove the offences beyond a reasonable doubt.
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“I must agree that it is impossible to say after reviewing (Mari’s) evidence that his account is not reliable or credible. His account of events, standing on its own, raises a reasonable doubt and I cannot reject it.”
Mari had been a constable with the RCMP, but a spokeswoman confirmed that as of Sept. 13 he was no longer employed by the police force.
There was no word on whether he quit or was fired.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2019.
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