Close X
Friday, September 20, 2024
ADVT 
National

Judge overturns convictions of B.C. woman, accused of coughing on grocery worker

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Feb, 2024 06:17 PM
  • Judge overturns convictions of B.C. woman, accused of coughing on grocery worker

A British Columbia woman who was accused of deliberately coughing in the direction of a grocery store worker early in the COVID-19 pandemic has had her convictions for assault and causing a disturbance overturned.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled on Thursday that Kimberly Woolman should have been allowed to call a character witness in her 2022 trial.

The original trial heard testimony that Woolman was at a Save On Foods store in Campbell River, B.C., in April 2020 when she refused to follow rules requiring customers to keep six feet apart.

A Provincial Court judge ruled last year that Woolman "forcibly coughed" towards an employee's face after being told to leave, then pushed her shopping cart into another worker. 

Supreme Court Justice Douglas Thompson says in his appeal ruling that allowing a character witness could have influenced the court's opinion on whether Woolman was shouting and whether there was an intentional application of force.

He says cases like this would normally be retried, but because Woolman has already served about a third of her 18-month probation order he was using his discretion to dismiss the convictions instead.

MORE National ARTICLES

More than 100 wildfires still not considered out after B.C.'s record wildfire season

More than 100 wildfires still not considered out after B.C.'s record wildfire season
More than 100 wildfires are still listed as burning in British Columbia thanks to a combination of a busy wildfire season, extreme drought and generally warmer and drier conditions through December. Forrest Tower of the BC Wildfire Service said that while it's not uncommon for some fires to burn through the winter, that number usually hovers around a couple dozen, not the 106 that were listed as active on New Year's Day.

More than 100 wildfires still not considered out after B.C.'s record wildfire season

Pedestrian killed in Langley

Pedestrian killed in Langley
Police in Langley are investigating after a pedestrian was struck and killed on Monday. Police say the crash happened at around 7 a-m in the 28-hundred-block of 264 Street.

Pedestrian killed in Langley

Snowstorm inbound for Metro Vancouver as winter weather rages across Canada

Snowstorm inbound for Metro Vancouver as winter weather rages across Canada
Environment Canada says a snowstorm is expected to hit Metro Vancouver, Greater Victoria and beyond, bringing up to 20 centimetres of accumulation and possible freezing rain to southern British Columbia. The weather agency has issued a snowfall warning in the region with a forecast of "widespread snow" starting tonight and into Wednesday.

Snowstorm inbound for Metro Vancouver as winter weather rages across Canada

Police put spit hood on 'aggressive' airline passenger at Vancouver's airport

Police put spit hood on 'aggressive' airline passenger at Vancouver's airport
Richmond RCMP say officers put a spit hood on the head of an "aggressive" airline passenger who tried to bite officers after allegedly assaulting a travel companion. Mounties say they were called to Vancouver's airport around 12:15 p.m. on Saturday by airline staff who reported that a person posing a "potential safety risk to staff and passengers" had been restrained on a flight.

Police put spit hood on 'aggressive' airline passenger at Vancouver's airport

B.C. extends free HPV vaccines eligibility to men born in 2005

B.C. extends free HPV vaccines eligibility to men born in 2005
British Columbia is extending eligibility for free vaccines against the human papillomavirus to men born in 2005. The province says it will send out notices on Tuesday from its "Get Vaccinated" system to about 23,000 men born from January to June 2005, advising them to get the free immunizations by June 30.

B.C. extends free HPV vaccines eligibility to men born in 2005

David Eby supports police who secretly took DNA from Kurds to solve B.C. murder

David Eby supports police who secretly took DNA from Kurds to solve B.C. murder
British Columbia Premier David Eby says he supports police who secretly collected DNA from members of the Kurdish community to solve the murder of a 13-year-old girl, saying he "really struggles" with the idea that they should not have done so. Eby says the victim's rights were "profoundly and unalterably violated" by her killer, and police actions made the community safe from a predator.

David Eby supports police who secretly took DNA from Kurds to solve B.C. murder