Crown claimed no 'reasonable likelihood' of proving assault on 92-year-old senior was motivated by hate

As Jamie Bezanson's lawyer sought to explain why he was seeking a sentence that might seem lenient to someone who only knew his client's name from the media, he referred the judge to a stack of news clippings.

They all identified the 51-year-old as a suspect in what police described in April 2020 as a "hate crime" — a "despicable" act driven by what officers feared was anti-Asian racism linked to what was then an emerging global pandemic.

But that was only the beginning of the story.

'He did not do that'

In the months after Bezanson turned himself in, senior Crown prosecutors reviewed the evidence, getting follow-up statements from eye-witnesses that led them to believe there wasn't even a "reasonable likelihood" of proving Bezanson's assault of a 92-year-old stranger was motivated by hate.

The longshoreman said he thought he was helping staff at a 7-Eleven remove a difficult customer after they called 911. He said he didn't realize Kaihong Kwong had severe dementia.

And when Kwong fell and hit his head in the parking lot after being shoved out the door, Bezanson walked outside, picked him up and sat him on the sidewalk.

None of that was in the stories Michael Bloom pointed to as he asked Judge Donna Senniw to give Bezanson a conditional discharge.

"The offence Mr. Bezanson committed was not racially motivated. Nor was it the product of a hate crime," Bloom told the judge at a sentencing hearing Monday.

"The evidence does not amount to that. The Crown has conceded that and Mr. Bezanson has stated — he did not do that."

'He thought he was helping'

Senniw handed Bezanson a conditional discharge and a year's probation this week after a joint submission from Bloom and Crown prosecutor Jim Cryder. He was also ordered to pay the victim $100.

The CBC obtained an audio recording of the hearing — which provides context to a situation that began with a public frenzy but ended with a decision that may have been puzzling for anyone who didn't follow the proceedings closely.

The assault took place on the afternoon of March 13, 2020 in East Vancouver.

Kwong had left his home earlier in the day without his family's knowledge, making his way to the 7-Eleven, where he stood in a confused state at the head of a line of customers, leaning over the counter and asking questions.

Bezanson was in an adjacent line, waiting to check his lottery tickets when a clerk called police.

"He thought he was helping," Senniw said.

Police arrived after Bezanson had left, but they didn't investigate the allegation of assault until one of the eye-witnesses called in a few days later.

Cryder said anyone would find it upsetting to see a burly man with long hair, a beard and a skull T-shirt shove a frail senior half his size to the ground.

The prosecutor said sensitivities were heightened by the pandemic.

"Given China was the origin of the COVID virus, at that time there were concerns there could be misplaced and tragic incidents of threatening or violent behaviour towards people of Asian ethnicity," Cryder said.

"This incident was captured by those social concerns and the resulting media interest."

'Quite startling different versions'

The Criminal Code contains provisions for hate crimes but they're largely reserved for offences involving hate propaganda or the promotion or advocacy of genocide.

Instead, prosecutors in cases like the one involving the attack on Kwong consider whether to argue that motivation by racial hatred is an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing.

Cryder said the case was taken over by a Vancouver police hate crimes investigator, with the public plea to identify a suspect happening on April 22, 2020.

Bezanson called 911 to identify himself within hours of the appeal and arrived with a lawyer two days later.

He pleaded guilty, which counts as a mitigating factor toward sentencing.

"This trial would have been challenging," Cryder told the judge.

The prosecutor said five of the seven eyewitnesses were children ranging from 12 years old to 15.

"That would have been a tough experience for them and it would have been a lengthy cross-examination because there were many different versions of the events. Quite startling different versions," Cryder said.

The prosecutor said senior administrative Crown reviewed the facts of the case — concluding that it wouldn't tip the balance of probabilities needed to win a civil case let alone meet the much higher bar for criminal prosecution.

'I know that I have crossed that line'

Kwong didn't suffer any permanent damage, and his family did not provide a victim impact statement.

"They were very concerned, upset about the incident when it happened, but they don't want to be further involved," Cryder said.

Bloom said Bezanson is a father and grandfather. He also recently became a foster parent to a 17-year-old girl. He has no criminal record and has served as an executive with a union dedicated to equitable treatment of employees.

The lawyer said his client has suffered "great shame, stigma and embarrassment." He said he would normally present a judge with a raft of letters from family and friends vouching for an accused's character.

But not this time.

"Mr. Bezanson has elected not to provide any letters of support for fear that anyone doing so might be subject to the same media shaming and stigmatization that Mr. Bezanson has experienced during the course of these proceedings," Bloom said.

Bloom said Bezanson and his family have received threats by telephone, email and through social media. The tires on his truck have been slashed three times, and last November his truck was set on fire and destroyed by vandals.

"The only inference that can be rationally and logically drawn is that it's from this adverse media coverage," Bloom said.

After both lawyers had spoken, Bezanson read his statement to the judge. She asked him to read it twice because his voice was hard to make out.

"I never meant any animosity or ill will toward anyone. I've always been a strong union member my whole life with the beliefs that there is no room for discrimination based on age, race or religion. And I've always done my best to live up to that," Bezanzon said.

"I know that I have crossed that line, and that I can only hope for forgiveness. I promise this experience I will never forget, nor will I ever repeat."