Red Deer lawyer charged with assault of officer in Innisfail

A Red Deer defence lawyer has been charged with assault and obstruction of a police officer in Innisfail — but the Indigenous woman says the RCMP’s description of events doesn’t tell the story.

According to the RCMP, police were conducting patrols near the Innisfail Hospital on Saturday when one officer noticed a black truck driving through a stop sign.

Once the vehicle was stopped, the RCMP says it began an investigation into whether the driver may have been impaired by alcohol.

Police claim the driver of truck refused to provide a breath sample and refused to leave the vehicle.

“When police attempted to remove the driver, the passenger grabbed the driver to prevent her from being arrested,” a release from the Innisfail RCMP reads.

Eventually, the driver was removed from the truck. Police say the passenger then got out and “approached police in a fighting stance and threatened the member’s life.”

The driver is then alleged to have assaulted the officer “while he was attempting to bring both suspects under control.”

The incident resulted in injuries to both the officer and the passenger, the RCMP says.

Both the driver, 24-year-old Desiree Friesen, and passenger, 37-year-old Laura Phypers, have since been charged with various offences.

Lawyer refutes RCMP’s account

Meanwhile, a statement on behalf of Phypers says the 37-year-old “trusts the facts will ultimately refute the allegations made against her.”

The statement, issued by her brother Andrew, points out that Phypers is a “prominent Indigenous defence lawyer,” and adds Friesen is also Indigenous.

It notes Friesen “insisted the officer provide a clean straw on the device” when she was asked to provide a breath sample. That’s when the officer is accused by Phypers to have “immediately escalated,” with the woman claiming Friesen was ripped from the vehicle.

Saying that “forcefully removing Ms. Friesen” resulted in her being choked by her seatbelt, Phypers’ statement says the lawyer was “alarmed” by what was happening and “came to the aid of her friend.”

The statement goes on to accuse the officer of delivering several blows to Phypers’ head and chest. It also claims Friesen was “forced onto her face, and had her head slammed multiple times into the gravel.”

“Ms. Phypers suffered from concussive symptoms, broken nose, muscle damage, and serious facial and cranial bruising. Ms. Friesen suffered bruising to her face, cranium, neck, and back,” the statement adds.

Friesen is charged with dangerous operation of a Motor Vehicle, assault of a peace officer, resisting arrest, and refusing a breath demand.

Phypers, whom CityNews has confirmed is a defence lawyer out of Red Deer, is facing charges of assaulting a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer, and uttering threats.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and the pair has been released pending a court date on June 20.

What implications charges would have for Phypers, given she is a lawyer, is unclear at this time. However, according to Danielle Boisvert, an Edmonton-based defence lawyer with Boisvert Wang Law, any lawyer who is charged with a crime is expected to self-report to the Law Society of Alberta, which is the provincial licensing body.

“Lawyers, we are held to a high standard as members of society and especially when we work within the system that we conduct ourselves. So when something like this happens, any kind of potential misconduct, proven or otherwise, it does require ourselves to report ourselves so that the Law Society can become aware. Then, generally, there’s a series of steps that could take place from there, depending on what happens inside and outside of the courtroom,” she explained.

CityNews has reached out to the RCMP for comment.