A sentencing judge did not give enough weight to a Red Deer RCMP officer's mental health when sentencing him for assault, a defence lawyer argued in an appeal on Friday.
Cpl. Kent McDiarmid was given a 120-day conditional sentence order in July 2023 by Justice Gordon Hatch after being convicted of assault in March 2023 following a one-day trial the previous October.
A conditional sentence order is technically a jail sentence but the person is allowed to serve it in the community. Typically, there are conditions attached, such as a curfew or house arrest.
The trial judge said he was not convinced McDiarmid was justified in punching a heavily intoxicated Evan Deschamps in the face knocking him unconscious on March 2, 2020.
McDiarmid testified that while Deschamps was being processed he kept pawing at the officer, at one point touching his belt carrying his baton and other tools. When Deschamps reached out and hit McDiarmid’s chest and neck he delivered a “reactive strike” in a split-second decision.
Hatch said a reasonable person would conclude in the circumstances that punching Deschamps was “unnecessary and avoidable.”
McDiarmid appealed both his conviction and sentence. A hearing was held before Calgary Justice Allison Kuntz in Red Deer Court of King's Bench on Friday.
As part of the sentence appeal, defence lawyer Curtis Steeves argued that McDiarmid's post-traumatic stress disorder, for which he has been receiving treatment since 2016, was not given enough consideration as a mitigating factor, which refers to circumstances that reduce someone's level of culpability.
The conviction appeal focused on complicated arguments about whether the judge correctly applied the law when he determined what a reasonable response would have been to the incident in the cell block.
Steeves argued the judge's assessment of what was reasonable did not adequately take into account McDiarmid's police training and past experiences.
Crown prosecutor Kaitlyn Perrin said when the judge was weighing reasonableness it was in the context of what another officer in a similar situation would reasonably be expected to do.
Perrin said the judge did take into account McDiarmid's mental health and acknowledged it was a mitigating factor, but determined it did not reduce his moral culpability.
Kuntz is expected to deliver her decision on July 24.