A Manitoba judge came under attack -- both inside and outside the courtroom -- after a Winnipeg man accused of a shooting that wounded three officers was released on bail Friday.
About a dozen officers, including one of the victims, angrily stormed out of court immediately after Daniell Anderson learned he could leave the Winnipeg Remand Centre and return to the Jubilee Avenue home where the December shootout occurred.
Daniell Anderson returns to his home on Jubilee Avenue, where the December shooting occurred.
Queen's Bench Justice Karen Simonsen said Anderson's continued detention in jail "is not necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice."
"There's your (expletive) justice system for you," one officer muttered as he left the courtroom.
"(Expletive) ridiculous," said another.
Const. Jeremy Cull, who received a serious bullet wound to his leg, contained his rage and declined to comment. His fiancée broke down in tears and started shaking, clutching Cull's arm, as Simonsen announced her decision.
Another officer, dressed in plainclothes, made a comment toward the judge that included the words "should have just killed him then." It wasn't clear from witnesses in the courtroom exactly what preceded the comment.
Crown attorney Chris Vanderhooft quickly apologized to Simonsen and then met privately with all the police officers outside court.
Lorne Schinkel, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, told the Free Press he doesn't blame his members for being upset.
"All Manitobans should be outraged by this. It is not acceptable," said Schinkel, who wasn't in court but said his phone began ringing as soon as the decision came down.
"This really shows the disconnect that exists between the system and what the public expects. It shows the suspect's rights at the end of the day overshadow the rights of our citizens and our members," said Schinkel.
"There needs to be an overhaul of the bail reform act."
Provincial Tory justice critic Kelvin Goertzen agreed, saying Anderson's release was "damaging to the work of police officers and to the justice system as a whole."
Bill C-35, which puts the onus on a person accused of serious weapons-related crimes to prove why they should get bail, is now before the federal senate. Currently, the Crown bears such an onus.
Anderson, 21, was arrested last December and charged with attempted murder and other related weapons offences.
Consts. Curtis Penner and Donald Murray were seriously wounded by a series of shotgun blasts that came from behind a bathroom door during a drug raid involving 12 members of the street crime unit.
Penner and Murray remain off-duty and are continuing to recover from their injuries at home. A third officer, Cull, was also hit in the leg after Murray fired three shots back at Anderson, with one of the bullets ricocheting back. Cull has since returned to work.
Anderson was also shot in his arm and hand, losing three fingers.
Police have expressed concerns in search warrant affidavits obtained by the Free Press that Anderson may try and argue at trial that he was intoxicated at the time and couldn't appreciate his actions.
According to statements from Anderson's mother and girlfriend -- who were both home at the time -- police burst through the doors and loudly announced themselves as "Winnipeg police," the search warrant says.
Anderson's family have claimed publicly he believed the officers were violent home invaders and retreated to the bathroom to defend himself.
Anderson tried for bail earlier in January but a provincial court judge denied it. Accused persons are allowed to seek bail reviews in the higher court, which Anderson did earlier this week.
www.mikeoncrime.com
PREVIOUS
