You wake up to an intruder in your house. What are you allowed to do to defend yourself?
This was the question on many people’s听minds after Kawartha Lakes police laid assault charges against听a Lindsay, Ont.,听homeowner after听an alleged break-in听Monday, sparking passionate responses across the country, including from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, over what should and should not fall under the right to self-defence in Canada.听
Officers have been tight-lipped on details but did say they responded to a fight between two men at an apartment on Kent Street at 3:20 a.m. They reported that the resident woke up to a man inside his house before the two got into a physical fight. The intruder suffered serious, life-threatening injuries that forced him to be airlifted to a 色色啦 hospital.
According to court documents,听the homeowner used a knife in the alleged assault.听
The resident, 44, has been charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon while the other man, 41, was charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, break, enter and theft, mischief under $5,000 and failing to comply with probation.
The alleged intruder was already wanted by police for unrelated incidents, police said. He will be held in custody pending a bail hearing after he is released from the hospital.
How far can you go to defend yourself?听
Self-defence laws are governed federally and covered by section 34 of the criminal code, according to 色色啦 who is not involved in the case of the Lindsay home invasion.
“You’re legally allowed to use force to defend yourself if you believe that force is being used against you or a threat of force is being used on reasonable grounds,”听Karapancev told the Star.
But what exactly听makes a response听reasonable is a tricky distinction that听Karapancev says is entirely case dependent.听
“For example, if someone broke into your house and they were armed with a firearm, pointed the firearm at you, and threatened to kill you, you would surely be allowed to use lethal force to defend yourself,”听Karapancev explained, adding that the response to an unarmed intruder would have to be “proportionate to that threat,” meaning you wouldn’t be able to use an excessive amount of force to expel someone from your property.
“You wouldn’t be allowed to, for example, shoot the person or beat them to a pulp with a baseball bat in those set of circumstances,” the lawyer said.
What do the charges mean?
Karapancev says there are few details but some information can be inferred by the charges.
Aggravated assault is a more severe form of assault, the lawyer said.听
“The police likely believe that level of defence likely exceeded what was proportionate in the circumstances,” he continued.听
Karapancev explained that standard for the police issuing charges is much lower than the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubts that courts now face.
It’s now up to a jury to decide if the homeowner had reasonable grounds to believe that the intruder was going to cause serious bodily harm,听Karapancev said, adding that it’s not uncommon for someone to get charged in听similar听circumstances and then be acquitted at court.
In 2023, the Crown withdrew a murder charge laid against a Milton man accused of shooting and killing a home intruder. Two suspects reportedly broke into his residence leading to 鈥渁 number of gunshots were fired within the home,鈥 Halton police said at the time.听
鈥淚f at any stage of the proceeding, the Crown determines that there is no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction, or that it is not in the public interest to proceed, the Crown is duty bound to withdraw the charges,” a spokesperson for The Ministry of the Attorney General said at the time.听
Police face backlash, defend decision to charge homeowner听
The Kawartha Lakes police department has faced scrutiny in the wake of the charges听against the resident, forcing Chief Kirk Robertson to release a statement Wednesday defending his staff, saying 鈥渢he negative commentary about the officers and their actions is unjust and inaccurate.鈥
The chief also indicated that media coverage of the Aug. 18 altercation 鈥渉as generated significant public interest and emotional responses.鈥
He explained that 鈥渃harges are not convictions; they are part of the judicial process, which ensures that all facts are considered fairly in court.鈥
Robertson said the law allows a person to use reasonable force to protect themselves and their property, if they believe they are facing a threat, but the key caveat is that it “requires that any defensive action be proportionate to the threat faced,鈥 and that 鈥渢he use of force must be reasonable given the circumstances.鈥
Police reported that the resident had woken up and found an intruder in his home. The two got
At a press conference in Hamilton on听Thursday, Ford said听鈥渟omething is broken鈥 in reference to the case, adding it’s expected 鈥測ou鈥檙e going to fight for your life鈥 when faced by the threat of an intruder in your home.
鈥淓nough is enough,鈥 he said.
Karapancev said he’s not surprised by the attention the case has attracted.听
“I think a lot of people do believe that their home is their castle, and I think a lot of people believe that they have a moral right to defend themselves and their families with any force they deem necessary. So I’m not surprised that people are shocked that our law is what it is,” the lawyer said.听
With files from Jason Miller
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