St. Albert RCMP detachment head Insp. Warren Dosko said Friday not all the facts are out about the case of a St. Albert man ticketed for operating his ATV while clearing snow, but to reveal any more would threaten the man's legal rights.
Dosko said the force will review the actions of the two officers who ticketed Jon Cooper for using his quad to plow sidewalks last Saturday and arrested Cooper's son Dan for resisting arrest and obstructing a peace officer, but he believes the criminal charges are well grounded.
He said that, for impartiality's sake, the review would be done by an outside officer.
"We are in the final stages of firming that up, as it stands now it is going to be another RCMP member from another detachment."
Cooper, who has received calls of support from across the community, said he has little faith the review will vindicate him and his son and he is looking past the court proceedings.
"They stand up for their own. That is the way I look at it," Cooper said. "The only way we are going to be able to stop it is with the prosecutor."
Cooper was using his quad to try and clear a sidewalk between his property on Bellerose Drive and a seniors' residence at Ironwood Point.
The vehicle became stuck in the snow and Cooper returned to his property to get his pick-up truck and his son to help free the vehicle.
Two officers came along just before the Coopers were about to attach tow ropes in an attempt to free the quad.
The RCMP have alleged the truck was a traffic hazard. They have also said the Coopers were not co-operative when they were approached.
Cooper said there was no danger from the truck and he would have been gone in minutes. He said his son did nothing wrong when the officers approached him.
Dosko said he is concerned about the public perception the incident is creating, but the officers acted correctly and there is only so much the RCMP can reveal about the case.
"We are not able to tell our side of the story to the degree we would like to and to present the facts that I would argue will significantly change the perception of our Good Samaritan, but we can't do that until after the court process."
He said Cooper deserves a fair trial and putting all the information out could infringe upon his rights.
"Everybody deserves that opportunity to have a fair trial and if we go and disclose a bunch of circumstances, arguably his right to a fair trial could be impacted."
Cooper said he is prepared for the trial, but believes it all could have been avoided.
"We wouldn't have gone ahead with anything if they had dropped everything, but they wanted to play hardball," he said. "We have just had to go ahead with everything, which is very expensive."
Bylaw changes?
Several other residents were issued warnings this weekend for using their quads and Mayor Nolan Crouse said he is considering some changes, but wants to make sure the city does it the right way.
He said amending the bylaw might not be the best approach and there could be other alternatives.
"I need to make sure we are doing the right thing holistically."
He also said he wants to take his time and make sure the city has considered all options.
Cooper said he wants the bylaw changed quickly and knows it is something citizens will support.
"That bylaw will be up to us, the citizens, because we will go in and have it changed," he said. "I can't see why there would be anything wrong with changing that bylaw."
