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Berry goes to court over stay

Although he is unable to speak, Bill Berry, a throat cancer survivor, communicated his disappointment in court on Monday about the aggravated assault charges he filed against a former Alberta sheriff being stayed.
web-berry
Bill Berry protests the stay on the aggravated assault charges he laid against a former provincial sherriff across the street from City Hall on Friday

Although he is unable to speak, Bill Berry, a throat cancer survivor, communicated his disappointment in court on Monday about the aggravated assault charges he filed against a former Alberta sheriff being stayed.

Berry, 54, of Red Deer, received permission from the court to file an aggravated assault charge against former Alberta sheriff Thomas Bounds in February.

Bounds was to make his first court appearance on Monday.

But last week, Berry and his lawyer, Michael Bates of Calgary, were informed that the Crown had stayed charges against Bounds.

On Monday, Berry waited until the morning court docket was complete before standing up and trying to communicate with a judge. He handed the judge a handwritten letter outlining his frustration with the process.

“I at least wanted to have the stay heard in public,” said Berry, communicating through notes.

“First reaction, Bastards.”

He also said he was greatly disappointed last week when he was told the charges would be stayed.

“The stay should have been in public. It’s a private prosecution, it’s in the public interest. It has to be in the public.”

The judge said there was nothing he could do and that he was a prisoner of circumstance, as much as Berry.

However, the letter Berry wrote was entered in as an exhibit.

On Friday and Saturday, Berry took to protesting in front of the courthouse in reaction to the decision to stay the charges.

The charges are in relation to a December 2011 incident when Berry, after entering the Red Deer Courthouse through the wrong doors was pushed towards the exit. Unable to speak, he tried communicating with a sheriff.

Video of the incident was captured from several of the courthouse cameras. It shows a chain of events from when Berry entered the building to when he was followed out by a sheriff and two medics.

An investigation by the Solicitor General’s Office’s Law Enforcement and Oversight Professional Standards Unit concluded that Bounds used “excessive” and “unjustified” force in the incident.

The RCMP did not recommend charges initially.

However, in February, Berry was granted permission to lay a charge of aggravated assault against the former sheriff, who no longer works for the provincial government.

A stay does not mean the charges are dropped, just that the Crown is not proceeding with them at this time.

Berry is not giving up, he said he is planning either a march or a hunger strike for justice.

“It’s far from over.”

mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com