Calgary officer turned son in to police after recognizing machete attack suspect, judge told

A Calgary police officer turned in his own son after recognizing photos of the suspect in a machete attack on a CTrain platform, a judge was told today.

Connor Dery, 26, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, breachinga release order and taking a motor vehicle without consent in the 2021 incident.

Prosecutor Shivani Naidu-Barrett asked for a two-year sentence followed by two years probation. Defence lawyer Adriano Iovinelli proposed a 19-month sentenceequal tothe time Dery has already served plus three years probation.

Justice Brian Stevenson will make his ruling on a sentence next month.

• Suspect in machete attack is son of Calgary police officer, judge told as psych assessment ordered

On October 15, 2021, Dery pulled a machete on a man on a CTrain platform in what was described as an "unprovoked" attack.

The victim suffered two injuries, a 15-centimetrecut on his forearm arm to the bone and a five centimetrelaceration on his lower back.

Father helps investigators

Photos of thesuspect were released and Dery's father recognized his son. He also confirmed to police that the machete and unique shoes, spottedon CCTV images of the suspect, were missing from Dery's apartment after the attack.

Dery was grantedbail but several months after he was released, he took his mother's car and got in an accident near Cochrane.

Justice Stevenson heard that Dery suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child and has been placed under a guardianship order. The injury impairs Dery's judgment, Iovinelli argued.

Stevenson wastold Dery was the victim of two serious robberies which led to him carrying a machete as well as a PTSD diagnosis.

'Very lame excuse'

But when the judge told the lawyers he needed time to consider the sentences proposed, Stevenson expressed concern Dery was carrying a "lethal weapon" with "the very lame excuse that it's for self-protection."

"If people carry weapons, they must have a reason, a valid reason and the onus must be on them to explain why they'recarrying a weapon in public," said Stevenson.

Dery's mother and aunt were in court for the appearance. Iovinelli told the judge his client's father was on-shift and unable to be in the courtroom for the plea, but also explained that because of his connection to the police service, he didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to the situation.

When asked if he wanted to address the court, Dery gave a tearful statement. He said he's been sober for nearly a year and regrets his actions. He told the judge he "will never be back in this courtroom or any courtroom."

"What I did is wrong," said Dery. "Ideserve the consequences."

On October 15, 2021, there were three random assaults in downtown Calgary. Dery was only charged in the CTrain machete attack.