Man who killed Sgt. Andrew Harnett released to Calgary halfway house after day parole granted
Amir Abdulrahman serving 5-year sentence for manslaughter
One of the men who killed Sgt. Andrew Harnett when fleeing a traffic stop has been granted day parole and will live in Calgary.
On New Year's Eve 2020, Harnett was dragged 400 metres by a fleeing SUV before he was flung into oncoming traffic.
The passenger in the SUV that night was Amir Abdulrahman, 21, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was handed a five-year sentence in January 2022. With about 18-months credit for the time he'd already served, Abdulrahman had three years and five months left to serve.
On Thursday, a Parole Board of Canada panel ruled Abdulrahman's risk to the community was manageable although board member Janelle Jackiw called it a "difficult decision."
In considering Abdulrahman's risk, the board noted he does not have a significant criminal history, has accepted responsibility for his role in Harnett's death, continues to demonstrate remorse and has engaged in "a lot of programs."
Although two day-parole options were proposed, including one involving Abdulrahman living with his family, the board ruled he would live at a community-based residential facility — also known as a halfway house — for the next six months under special conditions. He will be granted leave privileges from his halfway house.
Those conditions include staying away from known criminals, drugs, the victim's family and the District 5 police office where Sgt. Harnett worked.
'I caused so much pain'
During the two-hour hearing, Abdulrahman told the board he feels "disgusting" and "terrible" about his role in the officer's death.
"I know I caused so much pain to so many people," said Abdulrahman. "I wish I could go back … fix what I did."
"I had all the tools to succeed in life and I ignored those tools, I pushed my family away," he said.
He told the board he wants to become a contributing member of the community and would eventually like to make sure kids in his neighbourhood "don't live the same life that I lived."
"I would love to in the future maybe speak out to the youth in my neighbourhood, let them know, if you live in the moment, you could end up hurting somebody."
Widow speaks
Harnett's widow, Chelsea Goedhart, presented a victim impact statement during the hearing.
Goedhart was 15 weeks pregnant when Harnett was killed. She was not only left to navigate pregnancy, child birth and motherhood alone, she was tasked with participating in numerous court hearings throughout her son's first two years of life.
"There is a vast disconnect between the reality of being criminally responsible and what that looks like for [Andrew's] family," said Goedhart.
"I implore you to consider the notion of any parole request in that light."
On the night he was killed, Harnett pulled over an SUV because its lights weren't on.
A 17-year-old who was days away from his 18th birthday was driving at the time. He cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
As Harnett and two colleagues were about to arrest Abdulrahman on outstanding warrants, the driver took off with the sergeant clinging to the side of the vehicle.
'I was a coward'
The SUV reached speeds of up to 100 km/h with Harnett being dragged about 400 metres before he was flung into oncoming traffic.
The driver and Abdulrahman left Harnett to die in the middle of Falconridge Boulevard N.E.
"I was scared, I was a coward, I was full of panic," Abdulrahman told the board.
"I think about it all the time. I really wish I did something different, I wish I tried to stop what happened. I left someone in the street and it's not right."
The driver was convicted of manslaughter last year and is currently in the middle of a sentencing hearing.
A judge has already ruled that the young man will be sentenced as an adult.
Abdulrahman fears third person involved
A third person, who has never been identified, was in the SUV that night. During the parole hearing, Abdulrahman conceded he knows the identity of the third man but has not disclosed it to authorities because he fears for his family's safety.
"It's not about loyalties," he said. "I am not taking the slightest chance to put my family and me at risk."
Abdulrahman told the board that when he's released, he plans to work for his family's flooring company.
His younger brother, Ali Abdulrahman, was allowed to speak at the hearing and said Abdulrahman is "a completely different person" since his arrest.
"I hate that it took this entire situation … in order for him to realize and understand all these things."
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