Trial starts for Riverview man accused of violating pandemic rules at protest

A Riverview man's trial began Wednesday morning on an allegation he broke the province's pandemic rules during a protest last year.

David Robert West is accused of taking part in a gathering of five or more people while not wearing a mask and being less than two metres apart. 

This was a restriction in place at the time of the Jan. 24, 2021 protest outside Moncton city hall.

West was among five arrested for allegedly violating the rule and issued a ticket under the Emergency Measures Act and the first of that group to go to trial.

Crown prosecutor Logan Landry said at the outset of the trial that the Crown wouldn't oppose the judge imposing no punishment if West pleaded guilty. West, self-represented, opted to go ahead with the case. 

Codiac Regional RCMP Sgt. Christopher Mackenzie-Plante was the first of four police witnesses to testify. He said police had been alerted to the planned gathering and that a group of people, including West, who were previously warned or ticketed would be attending. 

The officer testified that police decided if those people were part of the Jan. 24 gathering, they would be arrested. He testified the crowd size varied, at points reaching about 30 people. He said West was there and less than two metres from others. Mackenzie-Plante arrested West. 

Photos taken by another officer show West and others at the protest.

"I don't see any crimes here," West said as the photos were shown to Mackenzie-Plante. 

While cross-examining Mackenzie-Plante, West suggested officers "profiled" him and others. 

"You had some agenda that day?" West said.

Mackenzie-Plante said given a history of previous violations, police had decided arrests were necessary to stop offences from continuing.

West questioned the officer about how he was handcuffed, suggesting the officer used excessive force. The officer said he cuffed West like he would anyone else. 

Another officer, Cpl. Bruno Labbé, testified about processing West at the Codiac RCMP detachment. Labbé said he was familiar with West from an earlier incident involving not wearing a mask. West asked if Labbé was aware he had a mask exemption.