Contractor guilty of assault for hitting New Westminster flagger
A contractor has been found guilty of assault with a weapon for hitting a flag person with his truck at a New Westminster construction site in November 2010.
Michael Biemans, who acted on his own behalf in court, received the verdict in New Westminster provincial court Friday. Crown prosecutors said Biermans was upset after an argument with the flagger, Paul White, and drove into him on purpose at a site on Nootka Street at East Columbia across from Hume Park.
After the verdict, Biemans insisted he was innocent.
"Definitely it never happened the way it came down. I never ran into Mr. White, Mr. White ran into me," he told reporters outside the courthouse.
Lynn Busch, who testified on Biemans' behalf, said White ran at the truck and banged his fists on the hood of the truck, and that White was only struck when the truck nudged forward as Biemans put it into park.
The verdict pleased several flaggers who took in Friday's proceedings.
"Our flagger was hit, it was done intentionally, which was proven. We've won one, so we're happy. This is huge," Diane Herback of the B.C. Flagging Association told CTV News.
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.