fuzzy-
the criminal courts have it.
they're cleaning up after bertuzzi:
Bertuzzi charged with assault
Canucks forward charged 3 1/2 months after a Colorado player was struck from behind
Lori Culbert, with a file from Glenn Bohn, Vancouver Sun
Vancouver Sun, with a file from The Canadian Press
Friday, June 25, 2004
CREDIT: Vancouver Sun files
The Canucks' Todd Bertuzzi will be heading to court to face a charge of assault causing bodily harm.
Vancouver Canucks star forward Todd Bertuzzi was charged Thursday with assault causing bodily harm, 31/2 months after Colorado Avalanche player Steve Moore was hit from behind on the ice and left with a fractured neck.
The announcement by the B.C. attorney-general's criminal justice branch elicited mixed emotions from hockey fans and differing opinions from legal commentators on whether the courts should get involved in on-ice skirmishes.
The National Hockey League said it had hoped the Crown would not lay charges because the league issued Bertuzzi, 29, "stern" penalties, including a lengthy suspension and a $501,926.39 US fine.
The hit was watched by 18,000 fans at GM Place and millions of TV viewers March 8, in a crucial end-of-the-season game between the two rival teams who were both trying to capture the top spot in their division.
Moore, 25, suffered a concussion and two partial fractures at the C3 and C4 level of the spine when he was punched from behind and slammed headfirst to the ice in the third period of the game, in which the Avs decimated the Canucks 9-2.
The NHL suspended Bertuzzi for the final 13 games of the regular season and Vancouver's seven playoff games. He must have a hearing with the league before finding out when he can play hockey again next season. He was also left off Team Canada's roster for this fall's World Cup.
In addition to Bertuzzi's personal fine, the Canucks were also penalized $250,000.
"It's unfortunate," Pat Morris, Bertuzzi's agent, said about the decision to charge the powerful goal-scorer. "You hoped the process would have led to an opposite decision. I fully support my client and my friend."
Morris refused to detail Bertuzzi's reaction to the news.
"His life is private. There is no omment."
A woman who answered the phone at Bertuzzi's parents' house in Sudbury, Ont. said no one from the family would comment on the charges.
Bertuzzi, who is believed to be with his family in Ontario for the off-season, is scheduled to make his first appearance in Vancouver provincial court July 9.
The Canucks were equally silent Thursday. "We are aware of the charges brought against Todd Bertuzzi today. The matter is now before the courts and we will continue to support Todd and his family throughout this process," said Vancouver Canucks general manager Dave Nonis, refusing to comment further.
Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer, said although the league was disappointed by the charges, it will cooperate with the authorities. "We believe the league rendered an appropriate decision, one that was stern and swift. We did what we believe was right, for the players involved and the sport as a whole," Daly said. "We, therefore, would have preferred that the Crown not take this action."
Pierre Lacroix, the Avalanche's president and general manager, also pledged his team's cooperation in the case, but would not comment further.
"A member of our organization was directly involved, and our main concern remains for him to fully recover from this unfortunate incident," Lacroix said.
It still is not clear whether Moore, who is from Windsor, Ont., will be healthy enough to play this fall. Moore has kept a low profile since the hit, attending only one press conference in late March, when he was wearing a neck brace. At the time, he refused to say whether he thought Bertuzzi should face criminal charges or whether he would accept the Canuck's apology.
Two days after the hit, a weeping Bertuzzi said he was sorry.
"Steve, I just want to apologize for what happened out there," said Bertuzzi. "I had no intention of hurting you and I feel awful for what has transpired."
Ken Dryden, a former goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens and former president of the Toronto Maple Leafs, said he doubts whether the assault charge will undermine the way Canadians perceive hockey.
"But it is a part of our game that we have to be watchful of," said Dryden, who is running for the Liberals in Toronto and was in B.C. Thursday to support other federal Grit candidates.
Dryden said the courts usually stay out of the game, but they always have ultimate authority.
"If you take the most exaggerated example of someone going on to the ice, clubbing another player over the head and killing them, you would never make the argument that the courts have no right to look into it," he said.
"The only question is, in what circumstances is it right for the courts to intervene, as opposed to the league disciplining [players] in its own way."
The incident has shone the spotlight again on the culture of violence in hockey. Moore was targeted because the Colorado rookie gave Canucks captain Markus Naslund a concussion in a hit in a previous game but was not penalized.
The last high-profile hockey hit to lead to criminal charges also happened in Vancouver. In February 2000, former Boston Bruins tough guy Marty McSorley whacked former Canucks enforcer Donald Brashear over the head with a hockey stick.
Brashear was knocked unconscious and McSorley was charged with assault with a weapon. Following a high-profile trial, McSorley was convicted and given an 18-month conditional discharge.
Bertuzzi is at least the eighth NHL player to be charged with assault for an on-ice attack.
Geoffrey Gaul, director of legal services for B.C.'s criminal justice branch, said the maximum penalty faced by Bertuzzi depends on how the Crown proceeds with the charge. If Bertuzzi is tried summarily in provincial court, the toughest punishment is 18 months; if the Crown proceeds by indictment, the trial will be in Supreme Court and the top penalty is 10 years.
It is unlikely Bertuzzi, if convicted, would get the maximum.
There has been some criticism about the time it took the Crown to approve the charges, but Gaul said it was not an unreasonable delay and noted prosecutors were being thorough.
Simon Fraser University criminologist Neil Boyd said the case is a complicated one because hockey players consent to a certain level of assault when they step on the ice. But he believes it is appropriate for the Crown to weigh in when violence may have gone too far in the game of hockey.
"The question with both McSorley and Todd Bertuzzi is when does behaviour on the ice cross a line and become criminal behaviour? And that is an important question that shouldn't just be left up to the National Hockey League. It's a question that the Canadian court system has a responsibility to adjudicate," Boyd said.
But Vancouver criminal lawyer Matthew Nathanson said he doesn't believe the case belongs before the courts. "Without being critical of anyone, I think it's somewhat unfortunate that Mr. Bertuzzi has been charged. I think it's clear that everyone was concerned for Mr. Moore's health, but I'm not sure that that necessarily translates into there being a public interest in the prosecution of Mr. Bertuzzi for what appears to be a completely unintended result," Nathanson said.
JUDGMENT DAY:
The offence: Assault causing causing bodily harm, Section 267(b) of the Criminal Code of Canada
The penalty: There are two scenarios depending on how the case is prosecuted:
- Indictable offence:
Maximum 10 years prison.
- Summary offence:
Maximum 18 months.
But a similar case netted a much lesser sentence -- an 18-month conditional discharge.
Vancouver Sun
Ran with fact box "Judgment Day", which has been appended to the end of the story.
© The Vancouver Sun 2004 |
