Killer of Abbotsford police Const. John Davidson may have been psychotic, report suggests

The man who killed an on-duty Abbotsford police officer more than two years ago will be sentenced for first-degree murder next month.

B.C. Supreme Court judge Carol Ross decided Monday that she would not order a hearing to consider whether Oscar Arfmann should be found not criminally responsible for Const. John Davidson's murder.

Ross' ruling came after a complex hearing which resulted from Arfmann instructing his defence lawyers not to pursue a verdict of not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder (NCRMD) despite a psychiatrist's report concluding that he might have been psychotic.

The judge had to decide whether she had the jurisdiction to pursue an NCRMD hearing over the objections of both the Crown and the defence. In the end, she decided the facts of Arfmann's case didn't warrant what would have been a virtually unprecedented decision.

"If such a jurisdiction exists, this would not be an appropriate case, given what is before the court," Ross said.

Made it clear that he's not 'crazy'

Last fall, Ross found that Arfmann intentionally shot and killed Const. John Davidson on Nov. 6, 2017, after the officer responded to an incident that began with a confrontation over a car Arfmann stole from a dealership two days earlier.

Arfmann had fired shots at a pair of witnesses who recognized the stolen vehicle. He then fled to a parking lot where the veteran police officer turned up in a white truck with emergency flashers.

Witnesses said they saw Arfmann shoot the officer. One said he stared in disbelief when Arfmann fired another shot into Davidson's body as he lay on the ground.

Although Ross concluded that the prosecution had proven that Arfmann committed the murder, she held off entering the the conviction pending the results of a psychological assessment requested by the defence.

"We got that report at the end of November and it said that given the totality of evidence that there is a likelihood or possibility that at the time that Mr. Arfmann killed Const. Davidson, Mr. Arfmann did not understand that what he was doing was wrong," Arfmann's lawyer, Martin Peters, said outside the court.

Arfmann has stated that he believed the RCMP and other Canadian police agencies are controlled by the Russian mafia. Peters said they met with Arfmann to ask him how he wished to proceed.

"Mr. Arfmann made it very clear to us that he is not crazy," Peters said.

"He did not want to be found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder. He wanted to be sentenced for first degree murder."

As a result, the judge appointed an amicus — a term meaning 'friend of the court' — to advise on whether or not the court can order an NCRMD hearing on its own.

'It should be troubling for everyone'

Crown prosecutor Wendy Stephens said the situation was unusual, noting that the Criminal Code is "silent" on the question. She said the question spoke to the fundamental right of an individual to control their own defence.

But she also acknowledged that the courts don't want to see insane people sent to jail.

In Arfmann's case, Stephens said the evidence suggested that the killer knew what he was doing was wrong at the time he shot Davidson and fled the scene of the crime. She said the courts are filled with people who are found to be sane but who have committed acts that make no sense.

When a spouse is convicted of trying to hire a hitman to kill a wife or a husband, for example: "One often wonders what was wrong with divorce?" Stephens asked.

She also noted that after the shooting, Arfmann did not stand up and say, "It's alright everybody, I've saved the day. I've shot this mafia who was dressed up as a police officer."

The sentencing is set for Feb. 3, when the court will hear impact statements from victims. Peters said Arfmann will be given a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for at least 25 years.

Although the legal arguments may be unusual, Peters said they speak to a larger issue of mental illness in Canada's prison population.

"We definitely have a person who is schizophrenic, who is going to be in the regular population, and he may or may not get treatment," said Peters.

"That's very troubling. It should be troubling for everyone, including the people who have to incarcerate him."