Quote:
Originally Posted by flameswin
Isn't he right, tough? I know you interact with law enforcement, and that's why I'm surprised as this post seems to be a little sarcastic.
I've always been told that pressing charges is an American thing, and that Canadians can't just decide to press or drop charges, it's not their call.
Can anyone else confirm?
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I decided I'd look more into this as I was beginning to wonder if I had the process wrong or was misunderstanding it, and I sort-of did.
The victim complains to the police.
The police collect evidence and decide whether or not to present the case with recommended charges to the Crown
The Crown decides to proceed to trial or not, or take one of several other avenues.
If the Crown decides to go to trial, and the victim backs out, the Crown, now without a main witness, may decide to go a different way, or drop everything entirely (unless they feel it's in the public's best interest, as they don't like to force a witness/victim to testify).
So my original post of "Maybe the cabbie changed his mind" could hold water.
From a Calgary Sun article: "Dunn said Mounties initially, briefly charged his client with assault with a weapon and mischief following the incident but then withdrew them."
Which really does sound to me like the cabbie was pressured (or decided for himself he didn't want to face a possible trial) to drop out of the process. Since the cab company got $10,000, the cabbie got $900 and both got an apology, he may have felt pressured from some source or another to "let it go".
Without the cabbie testifying, it would be very difficult for the Crown to proceed with the case in the "public interest".