CORNWALL -- Organized crime is to blame for the loss of three lives during a 2008 police pursuit, not a judgment call made by two Akwesasne officers who tried to put a dent in smuggling, defence lawyers said in closing arguments for the island crash trial.
The five-week trial of Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service Const. Mike Biron, 43, revolved around charges of criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death.
The allegations surrounded Biron's pursuit of a young male smuggler across Cornwall Island on Nov. 14, 2008.
"Organized crime -in this case cigarettes -has claimed three more lives," said defence lawyer Bill Carroll, who represents Biron.
Biron testified that he watched as the vehicle he was chasing struck a car belonging to an elderly married couple from Massena, N.Y. The unsuspecting travellers, Edward and Eileen Kassian, both 77, died from the impact along with the Quebecbased smuggler, 21-year-old Dany Gionet.
Biron's supervisor, Sgt. Kenneth Chaussi, also faces a charge of criminal negligence causing death through his role with radio contact en route to assist.
At no point did he order Biron to terminate the pursuit, despite the risk to public safety, the court heard.
The trial revealed that the nighttime chase reached speeds of up to 160 km/h over a stretch of 13 km, where the posted speed limit never exceeded 60 km/h.
In her closing arguments, assistant Crown attorney Lorna Bolton said that the possible apprehension of a cigarette smuggler was not worth the risk to the public through a high-speed police chase.
"The bang just ain't worth the buck," Bolton said.
She added that this incident wasn't a hostage situation, nor the pursuit of a killer where the officers felt compelled to act.
"Much of the success they have in dealing with smuggling isn't through stopping the drivers, it's through intelligence work," Bolton told the court. "You're just getting the lowest person on the totem pole, so to speak."
Bolton called it compelling evidence that two eyewitnesses to the pursuit contacted loved ones to make sure they weren't on the road at that point.
Before the suspect reached Cornwall Island -where he ran four stop signs -both the Cornwall Community Police Service and the RCMP had involvement with the suspect. Both law enforcement agencies have policies not to pursue vehicles in the region, Carroll said.
The Akwesasne police, however, has no such policy, which Carroll said left the opportunity to apprehend the suspect solely on the shoulders of Biron and Chaussi.
"We ask our officers to put themselves in harm's way," Carroll told the court. "And that they may end up in the courtroom facing criminal charges."
Carroll said the public can have "superhuman" expectations for police officers in terms of suspect apprehension, yet still expect officers to drive safely.
Carroll highlighted that Biron's cruiser was rammed by the suspect at one point during the chase, which lasted just over seven minutes.
The court heard that the fatal pursuit was one of 88 police pursuits on Cornwall Island in 2008. Biron himself had been involved in four pursuits during his 18 months with the department.
Chaussi's lawyer, Norm Boxall, argued that the two officers from the short-staffed, training-deprived Akwesasne department acted reasonably, not recklessly.
"The court cannot engage in hindsight any more than these officers could at that time," Boxall said.
Boxall added that the officers had no "instant replay", transcripts, nor simply the time to have analyzed the situation as the court can now.
During the trial, Carroll said Biron claimed to have been driving some five to six car lengths behind the suspect's vehicle, though two eyewitnesses stated he ws significantly closer.
Carroll argued that Biron's radio suggestion to utilize a spike belt on the suspect's vehicle was met with no response from his colleagues.
Bolton told the court that both officers knew that there was a steady flow of traffic on the international road from Canada to the U.S. The Four Corners intersection near the Canada Customs and Immigration checkpoint was the only way off the island, she added.
Bolton characterized much of Biron's testimony at the trial as uncredible, inconsistent and contradictory.
She also said that Chaussi's recollection of the event was extremely poor, and that he claimed not to hear critical radio transmissions that would have been "the most damning to him."
Bolton told the court that lack of experience or training aren't reasonable defences in a criminal negligence case.
"Perhaps knowing that you're in over your depth means that you should get out," Bolton said.
Ontario Court Justice Charles Anderson is scheduled to make his decision on Sept. 30 at 10 a.m. in the Second Street courthouse.