Transit Police satisfied, after man sentenced for shooting officer in 2019

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – While it wasn’t for attempted murder, Transit Police appear satisfied with the sentence for the man who shot an officer in Surrey two years ago.

Daon Glasgow has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, after a lesser conviction of aggravated assault. After credit for time already served, he will spend 15 years and 301 days in custody.

Glasgow shot Const. Josh Harms at the Scott Road SkyTrain station on Jan. 30, 2019. He was arrested after a five-day manhunt.

Harms, who was 27 at the time, was seriously injured and required surgery at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.

Transit Police Chief Const. Dave Jones says anytime someone is convicted, they are satisfied.

“It wasn’t anyone looking to minimize the charges or minimize the seriousness of what had occurred. In fact, we would recognize that Crown Counsel proceeded with the charge of attempted murder on this,” he said.

Listen: NEWS 1130’s Tim James speaks with Transit Police Chief Const. Dave Jones on Ask The Chief

Although Glasgow was originally charged with attempted murder, he was instead convicted in October 2020 of the lesser charge of aggravated assault, in addition to three firearms offenses.

In his ruling, Judge Peder Gulbransen said there was not enough evidence to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Glasgow intended to kill Harms when he shot him.

Transit Police said at the time that the force was disappointed with the result.

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But Jones doesn’t think more could have been done.

“If you were to ask me whether Daon Glasgow would have gotten more time for an attempted murder conviction, I’m not even sure that would happen because the court found him guilty of four very serious offenses,” he said, adding he believes attempted murder is a difficult charge to convict someone of.

“If someone fires a gun at someone and misses, did they miss on purpose or did they miss for whatever other reason? The law is tough, in how to apply it and how it fits into the circumstances here.”

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Jones isn’t sure Glasgow will be a different person at the end of his near 16-year sentence.

Glasgow was previously found guilty of shooting and killing a man at a Surrey McDonalds in 2010. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and banned from owning weapons for life.

Harms underwent extensive rehabilitation and is back at work.

“He still has some residual physical issues from where he was shot,” Jones said. “And, of course, the event will have an emotional toll on him that he’ll carry, probably for the rest of his life. It’s such a traumatic style of event for anybody. But he’s doing a lot better.”

-With files from Lauren Boothby, Estefania Duran, and Sonia Aslam