While BC Provincial Court justice Tim Hinkson agreed two men were physically attacked in Gibsons’ Sunnycrest Mall in January 2023, he found an accused fellow Sunshine Coast resident not guilty of assaults on them.
That ruling was delivered July 11 in Sechelt after testimony from three witnesses was heard over July 8 and 9.
Michael Norlander was charged with two counts of assault causing bodily harm after police attended the shopping centre shortly before 8 p.m. on Jan. 19, 2023, to find Aaron Greenwald on the mall floor with injuries including a concussion, broken nose, knocked out teeth and abrasions requiring stitches and Steven Clark with a black eye.
Accounts and video of the attack
Clark, 77, testified that he and Greenwald were attacked by the same individual, who he identified in court as Norlander. Clark said he knew neither Norlander nor Greenwald, but had arrived at the mall to see one man on the floor moving “like a bean bag when kicked” by the other. In hopes of stopping the onslaught, Clark testified he yelled words to the effect of “cut that out” in the direction of the two individuals. That, he said resulted in the attacker approaching him in an aggressive manner and then landing a single blow with a closed fist to his face that broke his glasses and caused a “black eye." His testimony was that his attacker left after that brief encounter.
Greenwald, 54, testified in court that his recall of the events surrounding his attack were incomplete, which he attributed to the physical damage and trauma caused by the incident. He identified Norlander in court as the person who assaulted him. In his testimony, Greenwald said he knew Norlander from working on the same property several years earlier and had spent some time with him at the end of the work day on Jan. 19, 2023. Greenwald stated he had wanted to pick up some potato salad and accepted a ride in a vehicle driven by Norlander. His testimony was that they went to a residence in lower Gibsons and later, he believed, to the mall.
Crown Counsel Joseph Zondervan showed the court video recorded from the Mark's store’s Sunnycrest location. For about 11 seconds, a small corner portion of that recording showed what appeared to be two males walking, followed by one striking the other causing him to drop to the floor. The first male then continued to strike and kick the second.
In cross examination by defence counsel Darcy Lawrence, Greenwald said that in watching the video, he was certain his attacker was Norlander. That he said was “by how he walked and carried himself…I know it’s him…one hundred per cent guaranteed." Greenwald said he did not recall giving a statement to police at the hospital on the evening of Jan.19, 2023, but that he did remember calling the RCMP Sunshine Coast division on the morning of Jan. 20. Lawrence pointed out that Norlander was not identified as his attacker in those reports, to which Greenwald responded, “I had a concussion.”
Eyewitness accounts not reliable
In his decision, Hinkson stated that the video did not show the face of the person who perpetrated the attack, which he called “vicious.” Stating that Clark put himself in harm’s way by attempting to stop the incident and that he likely “saved Greenwald's life,” the individual he described in his testimony did not match the attacker shown in the video. Hinkson said it was “unsafe to rely on his [Clark’s] in-court identification” of Norlander as the attacker.
As for Greenwald’s testimony, the judge stated he had “serious concerns with the reliability of his evidence.”
Hinkson ruled that the Crown did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was Norlander who perpetrated the assaults.
Norlander was not called on to testify at the trial.
