'It's not my fault': Bail document reveals new details about man who killed Calgary police officer
CBC
In the hours after he left a police officer for dead in the middle of a Calgary street, Amir Abdulrahman told his mother he wasn't involved, according to a court document no longer under a publication ban.
"Mom, I didn't do anything, it's not my fault," Abdulrahman said to his mother before he turned himself in to face a charge of first-degree murder.
"I have all the respect, but things happen," he said.
Abdulrahman pleaded guilty to manslaughter Wednesday in the New Years Eve death of Sgt. Andrew Harnett who was dragged more than 400 meters before he lost his grip and fell into the path of an oncoming car.
A youth, the alleged driver of an SUV, also faces a charge of first-degree murder. He goes on trial next month.
On April 28, 2021, Court of Queen's Bench Justice David Gates issued a 28-page decision to deny bail to the 20-year-old. The decision was protected by a publication ban until Abdulrahman's plea.
At Abdulrahman's bail hearing, his parents testified, offering a cash deposit of $10,000 and a $75,000 surety.
But despite what the judge called a "comprehensive release plan," Gates ruled Abdulrahman must remain detained.
"This is one of the rare situations where … the maintenance of public confidence in the administration of justice, requires the accused's pre-trial detention," wrote the judge.
The decision offers new details on the passenger, his family and his actions in the hours after Harnett's death.
Abdulrahman was born in Winnipeg in 2000 to Iraqi parents who, a year earlier, had fled Syria.
Three more sons were born and the family moved to Calgary in 2005.
Here, the parents worked hard, building their business. Abdulrahman worked for his father after graduating from high school.
At the age of 17, Abdulrahman began hanging out with, what his lawyer described as, the wrong crowd.
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