Jennifer Saltman (Vancouver Province) – When he tried to break up a verbal dispute between two fellow officers almost three years ago, Const. Matthew Estrada ended up with a broken nose, he testified Tuesday.
Estrada said he and a number of other off-duty Surrey RCMP officers and dog service officers went to Dublin Crossing pub in Surrey after their day shift on April 11, 2008. Estrada described the mood as “jovial” and said everyone had beers in the hours before the pub closed.
As the group prepared to leave, Estrada said one officer made a sarcastic comment directed at “>Const. Joseph Kane (AKA: Joe Kane).
“He became very upset,” Estrada said of Kane.
Estrada testified that Kane yelled at the other officer and challenged him to a fight.
To try to defuse the situation, Estrada said he stepped in between the two men.
“I was kind of hoping I could step in and calm Const. Kane down,” Estrada said. “He was staring right through me.”
To get Kane’s attention, Estrada said he placed his hand on Kane’s chest.
“I’m not sure exactly what happened next,” Estrada said.
Estrada said he ended up on the ground on his stomach with Kane on top of him. Estrada said Kane’s arm was around his throat, choking him. Estrada lost consciousness.
Estrada then remembered lying on the floor bleeding.
As he tried to leave, Estrada said he saw Kane outside crying. Estrada said Kane was apologetic and tried to talk to him, but Estrada was uninterested and angry.
Kane’s lawyer, G. Jack Harris, said Kane simply grabbed back when someone grabbed him and somehow the two men ended up in a heap on the floor. Harris said there was no hitting or choking.
Estrada told the court that cartilage in his nose was crushed and he had surgery. The left side of his face was paralyzed for two to three months and he suffered a severe ankle sprain that took two years to heal completely.
Kane, 30, is on trial in B.C. Provincial Court in Surrey on a charge of assault causing bodily harm. He is currently on sick leave from the Surrey RCMP.
The trial continues.
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