A man who drove onto the sidewalk near the B.C. legislature and narrowly missed hitting a man at a pro-Palestine protest made a momentary lapse in judgment, his defence lawyer argued in closing arguments on Friday.
Christopher Sura Johnson, 40, is on trial for assault with a weapon and dangerous driving in connection with the Dec. 3, 2023 incident, which was captured on video and shared on social media.
Videos played in court show Johnson turning left suddenly from Menzies Street onto the sidewalk toward a driveway on the legislature grounds, forcing a man in a reflective vest to run out of the way.
At issue is whether Johnson had the intent for assault with a weapon and dangerous driving, said his lawyer, Peter Firestone.
Firestone argued Johnson was focused on yelling at another man, Ali Abou Said, involved in the protest and had no intention of hitting or threatening the man in the reflective vest, Omar Babili.
“If this was about Mr. Babili, my client would have gotten out of the vehicle and gone after him,” Firestone said.
Instead, he exited the vehicle and went directly to Abou Said, as the videos show.
Johnson took the stand Thursday in his judge-alone trial, giving at times incoherent and rambling testimony.
He admitted to being angry when he saw people supporting Palestinian independence, testifying that he doesn’t believe Palestine is a real place and was upset about the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Johnson testified he saw Babili crossing the street in front of him before he made his left turn, but was adamant Babili had moved away from his path, rather than being directly in the path of his vehicle as the videos show, saying he is “so befuddled” by his memory.
Videos show Babili beginning to run as Johnson starts his turn.
“If he wanted to be hit by a vehicle, he would have been right where I stopped,” Johnson testified Thursday.
Crown prosecutor Tim Stokes has argued that Johnson demonstrated intent in a comment he made, captured on video, just after getting out of his car.
“See what I did just there,” he yelled at Abou Said, before commenting that what he did is what Palestinians do to Jews.
The trial is expected to continue at a later date for the Crown’s closing submissions.
