SUV passenger guilty of manslaughter in death of Calgary officer handed 5 years in prison

A Calgary man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Sgt. Andrew Harnett has been sentenced to five years in prison.

With credit for the time he's already spent in custody, Amir Abdulrahman has a further three years and five months left to serve.

Abdulrahman, 20, was the passenger in an SUV that took off during a traffic stop on New Year's Eve 2020, dragging the officer 400 metres before he was thrown into the path of an oncoming car.

Originally charged with first-degree murder, Abdulrahman pleaded guilty to manslaughter before Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Justice Robert Hall in December.

In sentencing Abdulrahman, Hall said the courts must send "a message that those who are stopped by police must not choose flight."

"Sgt. Harnett's senseless death caused devastation not only to his family and colleagues but to the city as a whole that mourned the loss of an exemplary officer," he said in delivering Abdulrahman's sentence on Friday.

Hall said the sentence would have been six years, but he deducted one year because of mitigating factors, including the guilty plea, Abdulrahman's young age and his expression of remorse.

The judge also ruled that Abdulrahman was a "minor participant" in fleeing, he was "at no time the direct operator" of the SUV and his "movements were reactionary."

Crown prosecutor Mike Ewenson proposed an eight- to nine-year sentence, while defence lawyer Balfour Der argued his client should be handed a two-year term, plus two years' probation.

The man who police allege was driving at the time of Harnett's death is set to go on trial on a charge of first-degree murder on Monday. He was 17 years old at the time and cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

In December, Harnett's widow and his Ontario-based mother and brother delivered powerful victim impact statements; Harnett's mother and brother both urged Abdulrahman to make better choices and to change his life.

Chelsea Goedhart, who was also at Friday's hearing, described in December of living with "soul-crushing grief" as she experienced her pregnancy and parenthood without her partner.

When offered the chance to speak, Abdulrahman gave a tearful apology to his victim's family and said: "I promise I will change my ways."

On Dec. 31, 2020, Abdulrahman and his friend were on their way to a party when they were pulled over by Harnett because the vehicle's lights weren't on.