NLL Insider

Where do I start? After such an exciting weekend we should all be talking about OT thrillers, great games, and goalies scoring goals.

Sadly, the story dominating the NLL community is an alleged altercation that took place after the Swarm/Rock game. For those of you who may not know what happened, Toronto head coach Glenn Clark allegedly punched Minnesota player Sean Pollock after their game last Saturday and was charged by Toronto police.

What really happened? Why was Glenn Clark charged? What happens now? Will he go to jail? Will he be able to cross the border?

While I can’t, and won’t offer any insight as to what may or may not have happened, I can shed light as to some of the legal side of things.

For the last 12 years when not travelling around the country to coach, I have been a police officer in the Toronto area. Over this time I have been lucky enough to work in several different divisions and have spent countless hours in courtrooms learning how different judges interpret the law. Hopefully through this experience, I have gained enough knowledge to answer some of the burning questions out there.

Laws in Canada come from a few sources, but in this case we will focus on only two. The first is the main source a police officer refers to, The Criminal Code of Canada. The second is a set of rules that is constantly changing and evolving, case law. The Criminal Code is the set of rules that all people in Canada must obey. Most criminal charges in Canada are the direct result of a breach of these rules. Such was the case on Saturday night. The definition of Assault as defined by the Criminal Code is as follows:

265. (a) A person commits an assault when without the consent of another person, he applies force intentionally to that other person, directly or indirectly;

(b) he attempts or threatens, by an act or a gesture, to apply force to another person, if he has, or causes that other person to believe on reasonable grounds that he has, present ability to effect his purpose; or

(c) while openly wearing or carrying a weapon or an imitation thereof, he accosts or impedes another person or begs.

Section (a) is the section that was applied in this case.

The alleged intention was use of force directly to Sean Pollock. The use of force alleged to have been used is a punch. Now what if it was really a consentual fight?

Consent is also defined by the Code and explaination as to when consent applies is found in the same section as Assault. The most applicable section is Section 265 (Assault) subsection 4, which reads: “Where an accused alleges that he believed that the complainant consented to the conduct that is the subject-matter of the charge, a judge, if satisfied that there is sufficient evidence and that, if believed by the jury, the evidence would constitute a defence, shall instruct the jury, when reviewing all the evidence relating to the determination of the honesty of the accused’s belief, to consider the presence or absence of reasonable grounds for that belief.”

What happens if he is convicted? The answer is found in Section 266 …. “Every one who commits an assault is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; or (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.”

The Crown Attorney, who is similar to a District Attorney south of he border, makes the decision as to how to proceed. Most cases that involve an accused that has never been before the courts are proceeded by summarily, indictment is more often saved for repeat offenders.

If convicted by summary conviction, you can face anything from a fine, a discharge, or up to six months in jail. How this is determined brings us to our next source of Canadian Law, case law. Essentially, every time a judge in Canada makes a decision, it becomes law. When a decision is made as to sentence, judges will use similar cases as a meter.

As to why a police officer lays a charge, that is a tougher question. The most powerful tool a police officer has is discretion. In a few instances an officer is required to arrest but in general we can weigh the situation and decide. The easiest way to explain why a charge is laid is to tell you about a three-part test that is taught to all police officers in Ontario during their training. This test consists of three things an officer must ask himself when determining how to proceed. It is known as The Bell, The Book, and the Candle.

The Bell: Does the incident set off warning bells in your head and conscience telling you it is wrong.
The Book: Is the incident defined as an offence in the Criminal Code.
The Candle: Should a charge be laid, or not laid, will my explaination/justification for my decision hold up to the light of day if questioned.

In this case the officer would take this test and if he decided in good faith that there were reasonable grounds, a charge is laid. Please remember that I am limited by space and that there is a great deal more information available but hopefully I was able to help.

As for offering an opinion, no thanks. Maybe when it is all over. I have been friends with Glenn for years and as a former member of the Swarm I became friends with Polly.

Hopefully for all of us this is resolved quickly and we can focus on what really matters.

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