Man involved with seven hour standoff with police, found guilty of resisting arrest

William Henderson was arrested in August, 2022, and had been the subject of a near seven-hour standoff with police.

Following the initial response from local RCMP, and the sound of what was believed to be a gunshot from inside the home, a separate emergency response team was called in, consisting of members from both Prince Albert and Regina.

Following attempts to talk to Henderson out by phone, and the deployment of both rubber bullets and a drone into the home (smashed by Henderson), several gas cannisters were also sent in.

Henderson jumped out a bedroom window and after landing on his feet, faced officers holding a machete in one hand and a can of bear spray in the other.

He then turned and ran towards the front of the house, and fearing for the safety of their colleagues as well as Henderson, the officers positioned at the back of the house tased Henderson.

A photo of the house involved. (Submitted)

While Hendersom lay face on the ground with his arms outstretched, multiple officers moved in and pried the edged weapon from his fingers.

Henderson continued to struggle, and during the trial, one officer testified Henderson had at one point reached for the officer’s carbine, even getting his finger on the trigger. Claiming he feared for his life, the officer regained control of the gun, and then struck Henderson in the head with the muzzle. While Henderson was disoriented, the officers placed the handcuff on.

With respect to the question of whether Henderson was resisting arrest, Howell explained many steps were in fact taken to de-escalate the situation.

“It was Mr. Henderson who did not want to co-operate,” Howell said, further noting that after being tased Henderson continued to squirm and flail about.

Noting his client’s past history with the correctional system and mental health struggles, and most likely being high at the time of the incident, defence lawyer Patrick McDougall argued Henderson was not resisting arrest.

“I think we’re dealing with fear,” he said, adding Henderson had just emerged from a situation where he was shot with rubber bullets, gassed and witnessed a chunk of the house being removed by an RCMP armored vehicle.

McDougall then went to encourage the judge to consider the long history between Indigenous people and the RCMP.

“And it’s not a positive experience,” he said.

McDougall said the officer who testified about his life being at risk was not a credible witness, that there was no evidence to prove Henderson was trying to shoot anyone,

“That’s a figment of [the officer’s] imagination,” he said.

On this point, Justice Meschishnick, while also noting a lack of supporting testimony, agreed the one officer’s testimony was unreliable and found Henderson not guilty of trying to disarm an officer. He did however find Henderson guilty of resisting arrest.

Along with the charges pleas were entered to, Henderson will be sentenced at a later date. McDougall noted his client has accumulated 20 months remand credit.

A sentencing date may be determined during a conference call on May 3.

As part of his arguments on Friday, McDougall also stated the RCMP overreacted and that the situation at the reserve should never have escalated to the point that it did.

“I can’t imagine how much it cost to do that,” he said.

Further describing the incident last year as a horrific mess, McDougall expressed concern the public may see more and more of these types of incidents.

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

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by Nigel Maxwell

Man involved with seven hour standoff with police, found guilty of resisting arrest

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