The first Spring Fling fundraiser was in 1958. Bob Stewart, Herb Jillson and Jack Francis came up with the idea because funding was needed for the hospital. It was also
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The Crown’s chief witness in the sentencing hearing of a Calgary police officer can no longer mentally cope with the stress of testifying, court heard Thursday.
Godfred Addai-Nyamekye told Justice Michael Lema that the anxiety of giving evidence has triggered a return of his post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Addai-Nyamekye had given evidence on Tuesday detailing an incident in December 2013, where he was attacked by then-Const. Trevor Lindsay.
The resigned police officer is facing sentencing for the aggravated assault of a handcuffed theft suspect 17 months later, whom he body-slammed head first into the ground behind an arrest processing unit.
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An unexplained health issue involving a key Crown witness in the sentencing hearing of a Calgary police officer has delayed the case for at least a day.
Crown prosecutor John Baharustani told Justice Michael Lema that a health problem meant Godfred Addai-Nyamekye was too ill Wednesday to face cross-examination by defence lawyer Don MacLeod.
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While Baharustani didn’t go into detail of Addai-Nyamekye’s illness, he did say the witness may wish to consult with a support person, retired psychiatrist Dr. Stephanie Mason.
Posted: Apr 27, 2021 5:29 PM MT | Last Updated: April 27
Godfred Addai-Nyamekye, left, says he was brutally beaten by Calgary police constable Trevor Lindsay, right, two years before Lindsay assaulted another handcuffed man, Daniel Haworth. Addai-Nyamekye is testifying at Lindsay s sentencing hearing. (Lost Time Media)
After listening to him beg three 911 operators for help after being dumped by police on unfamiliar empty streets in the dead of winter, it s difficult to imagine the situation could get worse for Godfred Addai-Nyamekye.
But it did.
The cruel treatment of Addai-Nyamekye, who is Black, escalated through the night of Dec. 28, 2013.
It is now the focus of former Calgary police constable Trevor Lindsay s aggravated assault sentencing hearing.
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Const. Jonathan Odland played the video in court, after HAWCS responded to an officer in trouble call.
The video shows an officer identified as Lindsay struggling with the handcuffed Addai-Nyamekye.
In it Addai-Nyamekye is punched and kneed several times.
But under cross-examination by defence lawyer Don MacLeod, Odland said he did not see anything that would amount to excessive force on the video.
He agreed with MacLeod that it is common practice for safety reasons to handcuff suspects behind their backs, but Addai-Nyamekye clearly had his hands in front of him during the altercation.
The lawyer suggested Lindsay was trying to get the individual up from the ground and he was resisting.