WARNING: This article contains graphic images of injuries.
After learning that the man who killed their loved one would not go to jail, several members of Ryden Brogden's family ran out of the courtroom.
A Calgary judge announced Wednesday that John Sproule will serve a suspended sentence that includes two years of house arrest.
Originally charged with second-degree murder, Sproule, 23, was found guilty by a jury of manslaughter in September 2022 for fatally shooting Brogden outside a Banff bar.
But it was 27-year-old Brogden who attacked Sproul first when he pushed and punched the then 20-year-old and continued the attack by beating and beating the young man in the street.
Sproul was found to have acted in self-defence but used “more force than necessary”, Crown Court Judge Joanna Price said.
“This was a situation closer to self-defense than murder,” Price said during Wednesday's sentencing.
“John defended himself… but his response was over the top.”
Forty seconds after Brogden was attacked, Sproul, whose shirt was pulled over his head and face, pulled out a pocket knife and began swinging and stabbing his attacker.
Brogden suffered 19 stab wounds.
Price described Brogden as “a good man whose life mattered” but said that “sending John to prison will not bring Raiden back.”
“This is a complex case and I recognize that it can be difficult to understand how someone can stab and kill and not be sentenced to prison,” Price said.
The judge further described the circumstances of the case as “exceptional”.
She also noted that Sproul does not pose a danger to society and expressed remorse.
240 hours of community service
Meanwhile, Brogden's family expressed anger and concern at the idea that Sproul would not spend any time in custody, with some muttering during Price's ruling and others abruptly leaving the courtroom.
Prosecutors Vince Pingitore and Mykel Long asked the judge to impose a prison sentence of five to six years, while defense attorneys Corey Wilson and Matthew Brown argued for a two-year suspended sentence or an 18-month prison term.
The suspended sentence is served at home. In this case, Sproul will be subject to 24-hour house arrest for a period of two years and must perform 240 hours of community service. He will also be on probation for two years after his suspended sentence is completed.
After Price left the courtroom, Sproul hugged his mother, brother and girlfriend.
Fight
Over the long weekend in September 2022, Sproule visited Banff with his family. On Friday night, he and his brother were bar hopping in the mountain town.
Meanwhile, Brogden and a friend stopped in Banff on their way to Radium for a fishing trip. Friends also went to bars.
“The Sproul brothers were in good spirits and engaged in friendly conversations with patrons and staff at various establishments,” Price wrote in her factual findings.
But the judge found that Brogden and a friend developed animosity towards the brothers at the High Rollers bar and talked about them to bouncers. The judge noted that Sproul was “unaware” of this animosity.
sucker hit
Shortly after the two groups left the High Rollers, the men found themselves outside the now-closed Dancing Snowman, where Sproul asked Brogden to light a cigarette.
Brogden told him to “fuck off” and then the idiot hit him and pushed him.
Video from the bar shows the initial physical altercation.
Brogden pulled Sproul's shirt over his head and continued his attack, punching him repeatedly.
“I'm going to fucking kill you”
Video from a nearby store and cellphone showed the pair struggling as Brogden threw Sproul across the pavement.
Sproul testified, and the judge accepted, that Brogden said, “I'm going to fucking kill you,” several times.
Covering his face with his shirt, Sproul pulled out a pocket knife and began swinging it at Brogden and stabbing him.
“John didn’t know where his pocket knife was going to go,” Price said.
“His response was excessive.”
Brogden was stabbed 12 times and stabbed seven times.
The fight between them reached the empty courtyard. At this point, a bouncer arrived and pulled Brogden away from Sproul, who ran away.
Jurors were shown photographs of Sproul's injuries, including wounds to his face, head, chin and chest.
In her factual findings, Price ruled that Sproul acted in self-defense, but that “his response was excessive: he stabbed Mr. Brogden a total of 19 times.”
Price ruled that “there was more force than was necessary to repel Mr Brogden's attack.”
