Compelling Testimony

So utterly compelling that it draws an unmistakable picture of an individual whose character is, in fact, without character.  Someone consumed with her welfare even while her reckless criminal act of social defiance of the conventions of motor vehicle responsibility had placed someone's life in immediate peril.

A paramedic, who has seen more than his share of the results of dreadful accidents and life-threatening medical conditions is more than capable of weighing situations and the individuals who people those situations.  The testimony of someone whom professionalism and experience has inured to the most egregious traits of human beings in emergency situations - people under stress, concerned for their own well-being, wholly reliant on the initial medical expertise of paramedics - sometimes betray the hopeful thought that people are basically decent.

Most people in fact are.  And their concerns and their actions are testimony to their decency, even under duress.  And then there are those whose psycho-social character leaves much to be desired.  Their selfish unconcern for others leaves a sour taste behind.  And it was that sour taste that Ottawa paramedic Brock Smith conveyed when he testified at the trial of Pembroke dentist Dr. Christy Natsis.

What he was doing, in fact, was delivering his subjective impression in an objective manner.  He was aware, he said, that Ms. Natsis reeked of alcohol.  Perhaps that impression was fortified by her manner which the paramedic described as offensively "demanding".  Demanding in the sense that though medical personnel were attempting to save a man's life, a life that was steadily ebbing away, they were continually upbraided by Ms. Natsis who was herself demanding attention for a slight injury.

But Ms. Natsis's lawyer, Michael Edelson, is a good match for his client.  He too is extremely concerned about her welfare.  And he has been very busy throughout this ongoing trial in casting not-too-oblique aspersions on the objectivity of the witness descriptions of the events and the condition of his client.  Lawyer Edelson went so far as to accuse paramedic Smith of a "total embellishment" in describing a handcuffed Ms. Natsis weaving, unsteady, unable to balance herself walking to the ambulance.

He also brought to the awareness of Brock Smith that the victim, 50-year-old Brian Casey, had a "considerable amount of alcohol on board", before the crash that took his life.  Questioned by Mr. Edelson Mr. Smith countered that he hadn't been aware of alcohol on Mr. Casey's breath when he desperately attempted to save his life.

The lawyer's extraordinary bullying of all the witnesses that have stepped forward on behalf of the Crown to cast doubt on the level of impairment of his client driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, and who has pleaded not guilty to impaired driving and dangerous driving causing death for the March 31, 2011 crash near Anrnprior is clearly his only line of defence.  In casting doubt on the veracity of their impressions and their statements, making them appear less definitive than their utterances are meant to be, he hopes to leave room for doubt regarding her guilt.

The crudeness of his interrogation and his insulting assaults against the witnesses do the lawyer no credit as a decent human being, himself.  How does this rather uncivil courtroom exchange between witness and lawyer sound...seemly, or problematical?

Lawyer Edelson accuses paramedic Smith of exaggeration, relating to his statement that he had to turn on the ambulance ventilation fan to deal with the powerful odour of alcohol emanating from Ms. Natsis.
"You put the mustard on that one too", Mr. Edelson observed, pointing out that much of what Mr. Smith was recounting was not included in an incident report.

"I wasn't putting mustard on anything.  It's not a hotdog.  I'm not trying to exaggerate or embellish anything", responded Mr. Smith, who had earlier explained that "most" paramedics "deliberately leave out smells of alcohol or unsteady gaits" from call reports "just to avoid testifying and b eing in these kinds of situations."

"In other words, they are prepared to obstruct justice, is that what you are saying?", asked Mr. Edelson bafflingly, playing devil's advocate.

"They're prepared to not see anything, to sort of put the blinders on to issues that would get them testifying", responded Mr. Smith, adding that wasn't his style.

The situation for Brian Casey, he emphasized, was a desperate one: "He was bleeding out internally from his injuuries.  He was going down the drain.  I was just holding the gas pedal down as far as I could", said Mr. Smith describing his drive to hospital with the man whose life was rapidly expiring.

As for Ms. Natsis, he said, she "just kind of looked away" when he informed her Mr. Casey was fighting for his life.  Her concern was not for the patient, Mr. Smith explained: "It was about getting a lawyer". 

And didn't she just.