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Friday, December 6, 2013

Mountie gets 2 years probation in shooting VICTIM: What happened that night ‘ridiculous’, sentence ‘ridiculous’ SARAH SIMPSON CITIZEN

To avoid the officer being on “pins and needles”, soon after court commenced, Judge Josiah Wood told Const. David Pompeo he would not be serving jail time. “Thank you, Your Honour,” was Pompeo’s reply. C o nv i c t e d o f a g g r ava t e d assault in the 2009 shooting of an unarmed man during a traffic stop, the former North Cowichan/ Duncan RCMP officer was sentenced Thursday morning at the Duncan courthouse — more than four years after the incident took place. Pompeo received a suspended sentence of two years probation and 240 hours of community service. He will also get to keep his firearm. “I am satisfied there is no risk Const. Pompeo will commit either offences generally, or offences of a similar nature, in the future,” Wood said in his reasons. “There’s no question whether Const. Pompeo is aware of and acknowledging the harmful consequences of what occurred on Sept. 18, 2009.” Pompeo and his partner had been driving an unmarked pickup truck when they pulled Gillespie over for suspicion of driving while prohibited. During the September 2012 trial, Pompeo testified Gillespie got out of his vehicle without being told to do so and made “blatant movements and gestures making me to believe he was armed.” His statements are in stark con-

Victim Bill Gillespie expresses his disappointment outside the Duncan courthouse after hearing the officer who shot him in 2009 will serve a two-year probation and be permitted to keep his gun. [KEVIN ROTHBAUER/CITIZEN]

trast to Gillespie’s own testimony, when he said he was ordered out of the car and complied fully with Pompeo’s instructions. On Thursday, Wood noted that since the incident, Pompeo has taken 26 training courses in an attempt to rehabilitate himself and atone for his actions. An exemplary officer with extremely good character, Wood said, the aggravated assault conviction is the only blemish on the Mountie’s record. It’s for those reasons, and

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because Wood has no doubt that Pompeo “experiences considerable remorse” for shooting Gillespie, that, “after much anxious reflection,” Wood ordered an exemption from the standard nofirearms policy usually attached to probation orders, so that Pompeo could continue his career as a police officer. After the sentencing, inside the courtroom, colleagues enveloped Pompeo in hugs; at least twodozen officers were in court to support him. Pompeo, who still faces a civil suit, declined to comment after court was adjourned. Outside the courthouse, victim William (Bill) Gillespie was “deeply disappointed”. “All the time and money the taxpayers have had to pay for this and he didn’t even get a slap on the wrist,” he said. Wood noted Gillespie suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety and is unable to work because of the injuries he sustained when Pompeo’s bullet tore through his body and lodged in his spine. “The fact that the bullet still remains lodged in his spine four years later suggests the fact that it will never be removed,” Wood said. “It was only by chance and the greatest of luck” that Pompeo’s shot didn’t kill Gillespie, Wood added. Knowing those facts, the sentence baffled Gillespie. See Crown unsure • page 5

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Const. David Pompeo declined to speak with media following his sentencing Thursday morning. Pompeo still faces a civil suit with regard to the September 2009 shooting of the unarmed Bill Gillespie. [KEVIN ROTHBAUER/CITIZEN]

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