A lawyer for the Ontario government says he's skeptical about a Caledonia man's "fantastic'' story of accidentally setting off a shotgun and blowing a hole through his ceiling during the tense standoff between aboriginal protesters and Ontario Provincial Police.
Crown counsel David Feliciant opened his cross-examination of David Brown, 42, who is suing the province and the provincial police for $7 million, by suggesting the plaintiff had fabricated evidence.
Brown, whose home abuts the occupied former Douglas Creek Estates and was inside the aboriginal barri -cades, testified this week that he was so exhausted and stressed from lack of sleep following a failed police raid on April 20, 2006, that he nodded off for a moment at his kitchen table while his shotgun was braced between his legs.
Brown said his hand slipped, hit the trigger, causing the gun to go off and to blast a hole through his ceiling.
Feliciant grilled Brown at length about the size of the hole, who had patched the drywall and had fixed the roof, which subsequently developed a leak.
The lawyer suggested that Brown did not tell one of his closest friends, provincial police Const. Jeffrey Bird, about a having a shotgun in the house.
He described Brown's colourful anecdote as a "fantastic -- not in a good way -- almost unbelievable'' story.
"I would like to get some evidence of where that hole is,'' said Feliciant.
Brown answered, "Like I said, if you want me to take a picture of it, I'll do it.''
"Well, I'm going to suggest to you, and you are aware, that this story got quite a lot of attention ... and was actually reported in the press,'' said Feliciant.
Brown told the lawyer he didn't worry about his 15-year-old son, Dax Chatwell, getting hold of the gun and hurting himself because Dax was not living in the home at the time.
He said the boy was staying at a friend's house because the school bus couldn't get through native barricades to pick him up.
Hi s wife, Dana Chatwell, didn't want a shotgun in the house, said Brown, but understood the need to protect themselves and their property. However, his wife took the shotgun shells away from him after Brown blew a hole in the ceiling.
"All I know was, like I said, sir, I had no police protection, no law, I was scared and I didn't know what would happen next.''
Twice during his cross-examination Wednesday, Brown said he felt nauseous and asked to be excused from the witness box before making a sudden dash from the courtroom.
Superior Court Justice Thomas Bielby sent the witness home to recover and adjourned the proceedings until today.
In another courtroom Wednesday, Hamilton lawyers John Findlay and Margaret McCarthy were before Superior Court Justice David Crane seeking certification of a class-action lawsuit against former provincial police Commissioner Gwen Boniface and detachment commander Insp. Brian Haggith on behalf of business and property owners in Caledonia who were damaged by the occupation of the Douglas Creek Estates and the barricades erected on Argyle Street and Highway 6.
The original plaintiffs are the owners of two local businesses, a Dairy Queen and the St. George Arms British Pub.
They are seeking to certify four classes of claimants, including a business class, property owners' class, contractors' class and a Highway 6 class, including businesses outside Caledonia that were affected by the road closure.
Crown Council Orlando Da Silva is opposing the class action.