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Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Edmonton police officer who repeatedly struck arrestee with baton found not guilty
An Edmonton police officer caught on video hitting a man with his baton has been acquitted of assault. Article content Jurors on Wednesday returned to the courtroom after nine hours of deliberation and found Const. Alexander Doduk not guilty of two counts of assault for his arrest of construction worker Justin LaFrance near the Edmonton courthouse on a snowy morning in 2019. Article content Article content Article content LaFrance claimed Doduk attacked him as he tried to talk to a man suspected of breaking a window, while Doduk said LaFrance resisted arrest, including by grabbing at his duty belt. Article content Article content The chaotic arrest — during which Doduk hit and punched LaFrance before striking him repeatedly with his baton — was captured on security cameras at the nearby Royal Alberta Museum. The cameras did not record sound, leading to competing claims from Crown and defence about what LaFrance and Doduk said before and during the arrest. Article content As a rule, jurors do not explain how they arrived at their verdict, but the outcome indicates they believed the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Doduk used excessive force. Article content Jurors did not hear other details about Doduk's career — including his role in the death of Steven Nguyen, an unarmed man who died after Doduk shot him four times in 2021. The shooting was investigated by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), which concluded there were grounds to believe Doduk committed a 'culpable homicide.' The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, however, declined to proceed with charges, saying it could not prove Doduk's actions were 'unreasonable' under the Criminal Code's police use-of-force provisions. Article content Article content Article content The arrest at the centre of Doduk's trial happened Nov. 26, 2019. LaFrance was part of a crew renovating a building across the street from the Edmonton courthouse and told court he heard glass break during his morning site check. He walked out onto 97 Street, flagged down a passerby and asked if he had seen someone break a window. The passerby pointed to a man in dark clothing on the opposite street corner by the museum, LaFrance testified. Article content Article content LaFrance said he waved to Doduk as the officer drove by in his cruiser, and crossed 97 Street diagonally after Doduk flashed his lights to control traffic. He said he caught up with the alleged vandal and calmly asked him to stop until police arrived. Article content Doduk described a different scene. Driving by on his way to the courthouse, Doduk claimed he heard LaFrance screaming threats at the vandalism suspect, then saw him cross the busy road during rush hour. Doduk said he parked his cruiser and went after the two men, worried they would come to blows.
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Edmonton Journal
Edmonton police officer who repeatedly struck arrestee with baton found not guilty
The chaotic arrest was captured on security cameras at the nearby Royal Alberta Museum Get the latest from Jonny Wakefield straight to your inbox Surveillance video of Edmonton Police Service Const. Alexander Doduk's Nov. 26, 2019, arrest of Justin LaFrance. Doduk was charged with assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon for using a baton to hit LaFrance, a construction worker who says he was trying to stop a man who broke a window on his work site. He was found not guilty June 11, 2025. Photo by Supplied / 10108205A An Edmonton police officer caught on video hitting a man with his baton has been acquitted of assault. Jurors on Wednesday returned to the courtroom after nine hours of deliberation and found Const. Alexander Doduk not guilty of two counts of assault for his arrest of construction worker Justin LaFrance near the Edmonton courthouse on a snowy morning in 2019. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors LaFrance claimed Doduk attacked him as he tried to talk to a man suspected of breaking a window, while Doduk said LaFrance resisted arrest, including by grabbing at his duty belt. The chaotic arrest — during which Doduk hit and punched LaFrance before striking him repeatedly with his baton — was captured on security cameras at the nearby Royal Alberta Museum. The cameras did not record sound, leading to competing claims from Crown and defence about what LaFrance and Doduk said before and during the arrest. As a rule, jurors do not explain how they arrived at their verdict, but the outcome indicates they believed the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Doduk used excessive force. Jurors did not hear other details about Doduk's career — including his role in the death of Steven Nguyen, an unarmed man who died after Doduk shot him four times in 2021. The shooting was investigated by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), which concluded there were grounds to believe Doduk committed a 'culpable homicide.' The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, however, declined to proceed with charges, saying it could not prove Doduk's actions were 'unreasonable' under the Criminal Code's police use of force provisions. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The arrest at the centre of Doduk's trial happened Nov. 26, 2019. LaFrance was part of a crew renovating a building across the street from the Edmonton courthouse and told court he heard glass break during his morning site check. He walked out onto 97 Street, flagged down a passerby and asked if he had seen someone break a window. The passerby pointed to a man in dark clothing on the opposite street corner by the museum, LaFrance testified. LaFrance said he waved to Doduk as the officer drove by in his cruiser, and crossed 97 Street diagonally after Doduk flashed his lights to control traffic. He said he caught up with the alleged vandal and calmly asked him to stop until police arrived. Doduk described a different scene. Driving by on his way to the courthouse, Doduk claimed he heard LaFrance screaming threats at the vandalism suspect, then saw him cross the busy road during rush hour. Doduk said he parked his cruiser and went after the two men, worried they would come to blows. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The two men's versions of what happened next also differ. LaFrance claimed Doduk 'tackled' the other man seconds after arriving and ignored him when he tried to deescalate the situation. He said he tapped Doduk on the shoulder to get his attention, urged him to calm down and said he wasn't sure the man was actually the suspect. According to LaFrance, Doduk handcuffed the man, got to his feet, then swung at him. LaFrance claims he has no memory of the scuffle with Doduk, and only came to after his arrest in the middle of 97 Street about a minute later. Doduk, for his part, said he lost his footing while trying to arrest the suspected vandal. He claimed LaFrance was agitated and pushed him while he tried to handcuff the man, then ignored repeated commands to stop resisting. When LaFrance continued to grab him after being punched in the face, he pulled out his baton and called for backup. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. LaFrance says he suffered a black eye, chipped tooth, fractured rib and bruises all over his body. He blamed the gap in his memory on post-traumatic stress. Police initially charged him with assaulting a peace officer, though the charge was ultimately dropped. ASIRT charged Doduk with assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm Aug. 30, 2023. Police photos of Justin LaFrance's injuries, taken Nov. 26, 2019. LaFrance said he suffered bruising, a black eye, a chipped tooth and a fractured rib after Edmonton police Const. Alexander Doduk struck him with a baton. Photo by Supplied / 10108205A Prosecutor Michelle Kai urged jurors to convict Doduk. She argued he had no grounds to arrest LaFrance, and used force that was unjustified and disproportionate. '(LaFrance) was trying to do the right thing,' she said, arguing the matter could have been solved with a 'conversation.' 'He was waving the officer over to help him. He was not doing anything wrong. No use of force was necessary.' Defence lawyer Dino Bottos painted LaFrance as the aggressor. He highlighted LaFrance's MMA training and history of what Bottos framed as anti-police comments. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Bottos argued the video alone does not provide the full context of the arrest. 'Police officers these days come under a lot of scrutiny, often because of video surveillance footage that is in the news media, sometimes rightly so,' he said. 'But sometimes not correctly so, because people have a misunderstanding of what police have to do in certain situations.' The defence also called a use of force expert, who claimed Doduk's use of the baton was justified. Doduk's acquittal comes weeks after another Edmonton city police officer, ex-constable Oli Olason, was found not guilty of assaulting a man during a 2021 arrest. Olason was caught on video putting his boots to a suspect's head, though jurors ultimately concluded he did not commit an assault. A judge who heard the case of Olason's co-accused described the arrest as 'assaultive' and said the arrestee appeared to have tried to surrender peacefully. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. —with files from Jackie Carmichael jwakefield@ @ Read More Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun Cult of Hockey Cult of Hockey Sports Local News Politics
