By Charlene Tebbutt

Judge tosses charge due to man’s medical condition

Jul 16, 2018 | 4:24 PM

A Prince Albert man was found not guilty last week of refusing a breath sample after a provincial court judge found the man’s medical condition likely hampered his ability to blow into a breathalyzer machine.

Steve Kasyon has Bell’s Palsy, a rare condition that causes facial muscles to weaken or become paralyzed on one side. Kasyon was arrested in June of last year after leaving a Prince Albert restaurant and lounge around 3 a.m.  Police charged Kasyon with impaired driving, although that charge was later dropped by the Crown, and refusing a breath sample in relation to the incident.

Police Const. Rob Lindsay testified at a trial that Kasyon smelled of liquor, seemed unsteady on his feet and slurred his speech during the incident last year. Lindsay also testified that he saw Kasyon driving all over the road, although the judge in the case said he did not see evidence of questionable driving in a surveillance video.

In his decision in the case, Judge Bob Lane found there was no question that Lindsay thought Kasyon was impaired, but Lane felt the man’s medical diagnosis and knee troubles from his time as a football coach could have impacted his ability to speak and walk. Lane also pointed to testimony from a police breath technician, who said at trial that Kasyon appeared to be trying to give a breath sample after he was pulled over, but could not form a proper seal around the breathalyzer mouthpiece to blow into the machine.

Lane found Kasyon to be a credible witness in the case, saying he was was cooperative with police. Lane said Lindsay has likely investigated some 250 cases of impaired driving allegations.

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“To his credit, he testified the way he saw it,” Lane said of the police investigation. “I honestly believe that this is a case where the officer has done so many that one blends into another.”

Lane said it would have been helpful to have some medical evidence about the symptoms of Bell’s Palsy, but he tossed out the charge saying the case against Kasyon “simply has not been made out at all.”

“I think the accused did honestly try to provide a sample,” Lane said.

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt