Close X
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
ADVT 
National

Police Officer Attacked: Suspect To Go To Trial In Edmonton On 12 Charges

The Canadian Press, 15 Mar, 2018 01:01 PM
    EDMONTON — A man accused in the attempted murder of an Edmonton police officer is facing a trial after two mental-health assessments found he's fit to do so.
     
     
    Abdulahi Hasan Sharif faces 12 charges, including a new one of  aggravated assault, related to a Sept. 30 attack outside a football game.
     
     
    Some of the charges stem from a police pursuit of a speeding cube van that hit and injured four pedestrians in downtown Edmonton hours after the police officer was attacked.
     
     
    "Essentially he has been deemed fit to stand trial," Sharif's lawyer, Karanpaul Aujla, said outside provincial court Wednesday.
     
     
    "We move on to the next step, depending on what that might be. It will be decided in some short little while."
     
     
    Sharif did not enter a plea Wednesday.
     
     
    Both Aujla and Crown prosecutor Shelley Bykewich agreed to waive a preliminary hearing and go directly to trial in Court of Queen's Bench before judge alone.
     
     
    Sharif's case moved slowly at first because a bed shortage at the Alberta Hospital mental facility in Edmonton delayed the psychiatric assessments.
     
     
    His first assessment in January found Sharif currently fit to stand trial. The second one concluded he was not suffering from mental-health issues at the time of his alleged involvement in the attack.
     
     
    Aujla said he was surprised by that finding.
     
     
    "In my opinion, it found substantial mental-health issues. However, the test required for NCR (not criminally responsible) is quite, quite high, and the mental issues that were found don't necessarily raise it to the level for him to be NCR."
     
     
    Aujla said Sharif is suffering from issues related to his background as a Somalian refugee.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    UBC Resident Drives Off Road In Vancouver's Second Fatal Crash This Year

    UBC Resident Drives Off Road In Vancouver's Second Fatal Crash This Year
    Vancouver Police are investigating an early morning crash that left one man dead on Sunday.

    UBC Resident Drives Off Road In Vancouver's Second Fatal Crash This Year

    Volunteers Offer Free Eye Care To Seniors In Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

    Volunteers Offer Free Eye Care To Seniors In Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
    A gaggle of seniors waits patiently inside the doors of the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, where the sound of Mandarin and Cantonese voices fills the air.

    Volunteers Offer Free Eye Care To Seniors In Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

    Nova Scotia University's Probe Of Controversial Professor Intensifies Free-Speech Debate

    Nova Scotia University's Probe Of Controversial Professor Intensifies Free-Speech Debate
    A small-town university in Atlantic Canada has been thrust into the epicentre of a national debate about free speech on campus, amid new allegations a controversial professor has made "racist and transphobic comments" in class.

    Nova Scotia University's Probe Of Controversial Professor Intensifies Free-Speech Debate

    Self-Driving ‘Sailbot' Returns Home To Vancouver After Being Lost At Sea

    Self-Driving ‘Sailbot' Returns Home To Vancouver After Being Lost At Sea
    She lost her sail and has a few scratches, but a robotic sailboat has returned home in relatively good condition after being lost at sea.

    Self-Driving ‘Sailbot' Returns Home To Vancouver After Being Lost At Sea

    Liberals Pour More Money Into Tax Filing Program For Homeless, Newcomers

    In just over a week, six volunteers will start filing up to 500 tax returns for people with little to no income at the Shepherds of Good Hope homeless shelter in downtown Ottawa.

    Liberals Pour More Money Into Tax Filing Program For Homeless, Newcomers

    Regulator Rejects B.C. Government's Promised Hydro Rate Freeze

    Regulator Rejects B.C. Government's Promised Hydro Rate Freeze
    VICTORIA — Hydro rates in British Columbia will increase three per cent in April after the province's independent energy regulator overruled a government promise to freeze rates for one year.

    Regulator Rejects B.C. Government's Promised Hydro Rate Freeze