generalspeaking

Beware, Pay Attention, Vehicular Homicide in View

"Once you have heard the evidence, it is the Crown's position that you will be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Abdulahi Sharif wanted to kill people."
"He tried first to murder Constable Chernyk, and then during an extremely dangerous driving pattern, he fled from police causing bodily harm to four strangers."
"It is the Crown's position he intentionally tried to kill these people by hitting them in that U-Haul truck."
Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Wheaton, Edmonton

"I thought the vehicle was going to hit me, so I turned to my left to get out of the way. I thought I gave myself enough time to move out of the way of the vehicle, but that didn't happen."
"The next thing I remember I was flying through the air and tucking my chin to my chest."
"I could feel the top of my head burning and my hairline was very wet."
"It was at that moment that I realized there was a black male on top of me, stabbing me with a knife."
"Officer down."
Const.Mike Chernyk, Edmonton police officer

Abdulahi Hasan Sharif

At the trial of 32-year-old Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, facing 11 charges going back to a vehicular attack in Edmonton in 2017, Edmonton police officer Const.Mike Chernyk said what was going through his mind at the time was "Trying to survive for my kids. I'm a single parent with two children". The charges against Sharif include five counts of attempted murder, and he has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Among the charges are those of aggravated assault and dangerous driving.

Const.Chernyk was alone on duty, directing traffic when he noticed a car fast approaching, an engine revving. Unable to prevent the collision, a vehicle against his vulnerable body that sent him flying, he shortly became aware that someone was on top of him. The burning he felt and the wet along his hairline was, though he failed to realize it at the time while in shock, was that he had been stabbed and blood was running down his face. He became aware that the man was attempting to grab his service pistol, and he managed to push it further into its holster.

Const.Chernyk suffered cuts to the top of his head, in his inner left ear, and between his left ear and eye, with scrapes and bruises on his arms, leg and abdomen. His first instinct was to chase the man who, unable to take possession of his pistol, had began to leave the scene, then understood that should he lose consciousness no one might find him to give him aid, so he called in "officer down" and waited by his police vehicle for other officers to arrive.

"Suddenly, he noticed headlights coming toward him. He heard the sound of a vehicle accelerating. He tried to move out of the way but it was too late."
"A number of bystanders tried to come to his aid as he laid [sic] on his back and tried to get his bearings." 
"But suddenly the driver of that vehicle was there. A black man in dark clothing with a knife and he was trying to stab Const.Chernyki in the head with that knife."
"The bystanders saw the knife and they fled, fearing for their lives. Const.Chernyk was now alone, fighting for his."
Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Wheaton

At day one of the trial, Det.Allen Park and Sgt.Bradley Redl of the city police crime scene investigations unit were the first two witnesses. They had taken photographs of the scenes, of seized items, and of the injuries sustained by Const.Chernyk, as well as those that Sharif had sustained. The Somali national who spoke through an interpreter had been injured in the crash before his arrest, had a few taser "darts" stuck to his body and clothing.

Edmonton Police Service Const. Mike Chernyk in hospital

Abdulahi Sharif's intention had been to kill people in downtown Edmonton. The lead officer on the case is a national security investigator with the RCMP. On the occasion of Sharif's attempts at murder, it all began during the observation of a military appreciation night held at a CFL football game at Commonwealth Stadium. It was recounted for the jury of 13 people that Const.Chernyk kept his hand on his gun to keep it from falling into his assailant's hands. Eventually the struggle stopped and the attacker fled.

Officers at a containment point stopped a man a few hours later, driving a U-Haul, and when an officer took the driver's licence, he sped off in the vehicle, taking police on a high-speed chase through the city's downtown area. Speeds of up to 85 km/h were reached by police following the fugitive. His speeding truck turned into an alley, striking two pedestrians, then another two near a book shop, before a police vehicle knocked the van onto its side, pulling out the suspect.

"The Crown's position is none of the collisions were accidents. Mr. Sharif could have avoided people in that alley but he didn't. He intentionally hit them."
"He could have stayed on the road by Audreys Books but he intentionally drove into a crowd of people."
"[Police] ended this dangerous incident without any loss of life [when a police truck driver knocked the U-Haul over and a suspect was pulled from the front of the van following the deployment of a flash-bang and police smashed its windshield]."
Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Wheaton

A U-Haul box truck was tipped over after a police chase west down Jasper Avenue on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. Ian Kucerak / Edmonton Journal

Labels: Edmonton, Heroism, Police, Terrorism, Vehicular Attack

posted by Pieface @ Saturday, October 05, 2019