- Man shot in head by police after running over elderly couple no longer faces chargesMore
Jason Harron was blinded after he was shot in May 2013. On Thursday, the Crown prosecutor's office stayed all charges against the 40-year-old because his case took too long to get to trial.
"This has been a very long ordeal for Mr. Harron," said defence lawyers Andrea Urquhart and Tonii Roulston in a statement. "While he is relieved about this outcome he was looking forward to his day in court."
Harron had faced charges of hit and run causing bodily harm, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, flight from police causing bodily harm and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
Police — who were called to the parking lot of the Crowfoot Shopping Centre in May 2013 — shot Jason Harron after he allegedly took off when officers approached his vehicle. Harron was accused of hitting a police car before driving onto the sidewalk and into an elderly couple.
The 78-year old woman struck by the vehicle broke her elbow and hip. The elderly man escaped with minor injuries.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) investigated the officer's actions and found he was justified in shooting Harron.
"[The officer's actions] resulted in him being permanently blinded which has had a devastating impact on his life- something he lives with and struggles with everyday," said Urquhart and Roulston.
A recent Supreme Court ruling, called the Jordan decision, imposed hard timelines on how long a person has to wait for their case to get to trial.
Alberta's prosecution service is triaging an estimated 400 cases that are at risk of exceeding those limits.
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