Doug McCallum鈥檚 defence began its case Wednesday morning (Nov. 2) in Surrey provincial court with a declaration that Crown鈥檚 evidence falls 鈥渕arkedly short鈥� of the criminal standard of proof for a public mischief charge.
Lawyer Eric Gottardi said evidence tendered by the defence will show McCallum鈥檚 foot was 鈥渋n fact鈥� run over by Deborah Johnstone鈥檚 tire on Sept. 4, 2021.
The former Surrey mayor is charged with one count of public mischief, stemming from an encounter on Sept. 4, 2021 between himself and a group of volunteers that was gathering petition signatures outside the South Point Save-On-Foods store in South Surrey for a referendum on the policing transition. He is accused of misleading police.
The first of two expert witnesses the defence called Wednesday was Dennis Chimich, a biomechanical engineer and expert in injury causation.
Chimich told the court Johnstone鈥檚 Mustang was moving slowly through the parking lot and he determined there was a mass of 413 kilograms over her right rear wheel. He submitted a report on the matter on Oct. 17, 2022, the court heard.
Chimich testified the vehicle 鈥渞olled over鈥� his foot while McCallum was 鈥渞elatively鈥� standing still and that feet can be run over by vehicle tires resulting in no fractures.
鈥淏one injuries are not to be expected at low speed,鈥� he said. The absense of fractures in McCallum鈥檚 case 鈥渄oes not mean that his foot was not run over.鈥�
He brought out a skeleton foot model in court as a visual aid.
They discussed a journal called 鈥淔oot and Ankle International,鈥� which drew some chuckles from the gallery.
During cross examination, Chimich told special prosecutor Richard Fowler that he did not calculate horizontal acceleration but 鈥渦sed mass as my guide鈥� for vertical force. He did not know the state of the tire鈥檚 inflation, he said. Nor did he examine McCallum鈥檚 footware.
鈥淚 did see pictures of the shoes, I did not physically examine them,鈥� Chimich told the court.
Fowler asked him what minimal force is required to cause visible injuries on a foot inside a sock and shoe.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know,鈥� Chimich replied.
The defence鈥檚 next expert witness, Bradley Heinrichs, is a mechanical engineer and expert in accident reconstruction and video analysis.
A frame-by-frame review of CCTV footage from the grocery store shows McCallum鈥檚 arm 鈥渏erk back鈥� as the tire passes, Heinrich noted. He said he went to the scene and used a laser scanner to create a 3-D scan of the parking lot, which was shown in court.
Heinrichs said the video was not capable of telling him if there was a limp or change in McCallum鈥檚 gait after the incident.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 tell,鈥� he said.
A third witness for the defence, radiologist Dr. Hamed Basseri, works at Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock. He testified he found no X-ray evidence of a fracture in McCallum鈥檚 left foot but found 鈥渕oderate鈥� soft-tissue swelling on the outside of the foot 鈥渢oward the small toe.鈥�
During cross-examination, Basseri told Fowler he never physically observed McCallum鈥檚 foot and did not observe any X-ray of the right foot. He told the court he was not able to say if there was swelling on the day before or earlier.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 correct,鈥� he told the court.
The trial continues on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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