A Delta constable charged with second-degree murder appeared in court Thursday, where dozens of fellow officers gathered in a show of solidarity.
Const. Jordan MacWilliams, a seven-year veteran of the Delta Police Department, is accused in the high-profile shooting of an armed man outside the Starlight Casino in November 2012.
The charge followed a probe by B.C.’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office.
The officers showing support outside court Thursday came from across Metro Vancouver, and many were sporting wristbands with MacWilliams’s badge number on it.
The display was unusual, as are the circumstances; the case represents the first time a B.C. police officer has been charged with murder in the line of duty.
Staff Sgt. Ryan Hall of the Delta Police Association denied there’s anything inappropriate with police standing by the accused.
“There’s a process to be run. We’re not trying to interfere with that process, we’re just trying to show our support publicly for our member,” Hall said.
Police have sold 2,500 of the wristbands at cost to both officers and the public, and have ordered 2,500 more, according to Hall.
The B.C. Police Association and MacWilliams’s lawyer, David Butcher, both argued outside court that the trial could set a troubling precedent, from the perspective of law enforcement.
“I’m sure it’s going to send a chill into those who are sent out every night to look after you and me and everybody else,” Butcher said.
The deceased, 48-year-old Mehrdad Bayrami, was fatally shot following a five-hour standoff in the casino parking lot on Nov. 8, 2012. Bayrami was armed, and police said he had appeared distraught and held the gun to his head during the incident.
MacWilliams is scheduled to appear in court again next month.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Peter Grainger
