An alleged fight between Brandon Ryan Doward Richardson and his girlfriend eventually led to him assaulting and threatening the officers who responded to the alleged incident.
Police received a call on Dec. 4, 2022, about a possible domestic dispute occurring in an apartment, with the caller saying banging and yelling could be heard coming from the suite, Crown prosecutor Monique Paquin said recently in Moose Jaw Provincial Court.
Upon arrival, they discovered that an altercation was occurring, and after knocking, a distraught-looking woman answered the door and said she was happy to see them, Paquin continued.
After entering the woman’s apartment, Richardson, 41, confronted the officers and demanded whether they had a warrant. One attempted to calm the situation while another began speaking with the girlfriend. However, she was reluctant to explain what happened, only saying they were arguing and denying that Richardson had hit her.
Officers eventually arrested Richardson on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend, which is when he threatened them, Paquin said. They took the man to a police cruiser and put him inside, but not before he kicked one in the leg.
Police took Richardson to that station, charged him, and then released him.
Paquin added that Richardson has a lengthy criminal record with six other convictions for assault or uttering threats.
During his appearance in court, Richardson pleaded guilty to uttering threats against and assaulting police and breaching his probation. As part of a joint submission, he received six months of a conditional sentence order (CSO) — similar to house arrest — followed by 12 months of probation.
Some conditions include keeping the peace and being of good behaviour, not consuming alcohol or drugs, obeying a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., taking programming and providing a breath or urine sample when requested.
Legal aid lawyer Suzanne Jeanson explained that Richardson was wearing a cast when police arrested him, and when they were pulling his arm behind him, they damaged the cast.
“He tells me that he was screaming in pain and asking the officers to not put his arm back,” she said. “The force that the officers used broke the cast and required the arm to be re-cast — although he had to wait eight days before he could have that done. So, he was in additional pain until then.”
Reviewing the in-car video showed that Richardson and the arresting officer had a “respectful and open conversation” about the situation, Jeanson continued. He told the officer about the pain he experienced with his arm, which led to the officer apologizing for her actions and Richardson apologizing for his.
Jeanson added that Richardson is taking counselling to address his grief over a relative’s death while he is back to work now that his arm is healed.
“You have a terrible record of assaults on your record,” Judge Brian Hendrickson told Richardson. “Also, you assaulted police. They have to be protected.
The judge added that he accepted the joint submission and would impose a $150 victim fine surcharge on Richardson.
