Joe Smyth takes the stand after judge rejects motion to dismiss obstruction of justice charge
Defence lawyer Jerome Kennedy asked judge Jan. 9 to dismiss charges
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer Joe Smyth took the stand at his obstruction of justice trial Monday, after a judge rejected a motion to dismiss the charges.
Smyth was charged in July over how he handled a traffic stop in St. John's in May 2017, when he issued four tickets to a motorcyclist named Sayed Husaini. All four tickets were eventually dropped.
Jerome Kennedy, Smyth's defence lawyer, said there was no evidence of malice and asked for a directed verdict — essentially, asking the judge to dismiss the charge.
In provincial court Monday morning, Judge Mike Madden rejected Kennedy's motion to dismiss the charges, meaning Smyth's trial will continue.
Judge Madden has decided the obstruction of justice trial of RNC Const. Joe Smyth will continue <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbcnl?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#cbcnl</a> <a href="https://t.co/cQBYpH0D2g">pic.twitter.com/cQBYpH0D2g</a>
—@CBCMarkQuinnSmyth on stand
Smyth was the subject of an inquiry in connection with the killing of injured worker Don Dunphy in his Mitchells Brook home in 2015.
Smyth told the court Monday that testifying at the inquiry was "brutal" and took a heavy toll on him, and that he hoped that returning to work after a period of leave would be good for him.
He said he "finds it astonishing that a police body such as the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team" would suggest he was out to get Husaini when he pulled him over in 2017.
The obstruction of justice charge was laid against Smyth following an investigation by ASIRT. He has been suspended without pay since that charge was announced in July.
The RNC officer said he believed he saw Husaini passing between cars, failing to signal, and running a red light.
"I would never knowingly issue a ticket that was false," Smyth testified.
He denied being rude or angry when he stopped Husaini, and said it made him sick to his stomach when he saw that video from Husaini's GoPro camera showed he had a green traffic light, not a red one.
Smyth said he made his way to Torbay Rd. after hearing on thr police radio that there was an orange motorcycle there but “honestly didn’t expect it would still be there when I got there,” he said. He made another traffic stop and issued a ticket on the outer ring road on the way
—@CBCMarkQuinnBut Smyth told the court he still feels the tickets he issued for illegal passing, failing to signal and driving with a defective rear tire were warranted.
The trial continues Tuesday at 11 a.m.
With files from Mark Quinn, Ryan Cooke, Stephanie Kinsella and Bailey White