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Mountie Pompeo appealing aggravated assault conviction

The Mountie who was found guilty of aggravated assault in the 2009 shooting of an unarmed Duncan man is appealing his conviction.

Const. David Pompeo was convicted in February 2013 of shooting Bill Gillespie during a traffic stop in September 2009. Last December, Pompeo was sentenced to two years probation and 240 hours of community service.

The appeal hearing began in Vancouver court on Monday and continued into Tuesday afternoon. Speaking before Tuesday's session, Gillespie made it clear that he wasn't impressed with the arguments of Pompeo's lawyer, Ravi Hira, to that point.

"Basically, he's retelling what was said in the trial," Gillespie said. "They're saying the judge didn't do good by Pompeo."

Judge Josiah Wood presided over Pompeo's initial trial, which began in September 2012. In the decision he delivered last December, Wood said that while he was satisfied Pompeo believed it was necessary to shoot Gillespie, the officer's belief was not based on reasonable grounds, but instead on fear-induced stress.

Gillespie is ready to be done with the process.

"I'm tired of this," he said. "What's been going on is an argument about a lie. They're lying that I was reaching for my pocket. The judge [Wood] didn't believe anything he said."

The result of the hearing was not available at press time.



Kevin Rothbauer

About the Author: Kevin Rothbauer

Kevin Rothbauer is the sports reporter for the Cowichan Valley Citizen
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