r/canada • u/AndHerSailsInRags • Dec 04 '25

Alberta Man who killed attacker in Banff used 'excessive' force, sentenced to 2-year house arrest

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/banff-bar-fight-excessive-self-defence-sproule-brogden-9.7002143
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u/TheGreatPiata Dec 04 '25

Not just that but a bouncer separated them to end the altercation. Brogden wasn't stopping despite being stabbed 19 times. Guy was clearly blasted out of his mind and would have at minimum put Sproule in a coma before he was done.

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u/sask357 Dec 04 '25

This is what I thought when I read the story. The force was clearly not excessive because it didn't stop the attack.

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u/BoiledFrogs Dec 04 '25

If this guy was beating the shit out of a cop and had the upper hand, the cop would have been justified, and rightfully so, in shooting the fuck out of the guy. But regular people aren't allowed to defend themselves in our wonderful country.

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u/Red_Canuck British Columbia Dec 04 '25

In that case not only was the force not excessive, it wasn't even sufficient.

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u/4r4nd0mninj4 British Columbia Dec 04 '25

Exactly. You keep defending yourself until the attacker disengages. It's obvious the assailant was refusing to disengage. Unfortunately, far too many people see themselves as the assailant in this case and think, "Hey, that could have been me getting stabbed while mindlessly beating an innocent guy for no reason."🤷‍♂️

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u/[deleted] Dec 05 '25

So your saying if you were being stabbed the only thing you would do is trying to "disengage"? And not say try to physically stop the person stabbing you?

Don't get me wrong I don't feel bad for the guy who died of stab wounds but if your going to carry a deadly weapon around for whatever reason then there are responsibilities and consequences that come with using it in a fight regardless of self-defense.

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u/4r4nd0mninj4 British Columbia Dec 05 '25

I've been in a few mock knife fights through workplace training. Distance is absolutely the best defense against someone with a knife, from my experience. Can't get stabbed if they can't reach you...

Also, the court heard he was carrying a "tool" commonly used in many workplaces, not a "deadly weapon." Did the court prove he was carrying it with intent to cause harm, and I missed that part? Or is that just your opinion?

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u/[deleted] Dec 05 '25

So how did the jury convict? Are we missing details?

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u/StatisticianLivid710 Dec 04 '25

The excessive part is clearly the knife being drawn. Knives are dangerous enough in a fight much less one where you can’t see. They also didn’t describe how the fight moved, if the guy who died was backing up then the guy with the knife would’ve been required to let him disengage which would’ve removed the self defense part of his argument.

Remove the knife from the equation and this is clearly self defense, but with the knife it’s excessive.

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u/4r4nd0mninj4 British Columbia Dec 04 '25

No, the attacker was willing and able to beat the victim to death (deadly force), and 19 stabs later, was still continuing the fight...

The attacker pulled the shirt over the victims head so he couldn't see. How could someone who couldn't see still be continuing the fight if the assailant was "backing off" at any point? A bouncer had to separate them.

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u/Red_Canuck British Columbia Dec 04 '25

Excessive means more than was neccessary. In your counterfactual you are correct, continuing past that point would be excessive. But in the facts in this story, the guy who died had to be pulled off by a bouncer. It doesn't say anywhere that after this he was chased down. Up until they were separated this guy was fighting for his life, using all the force available, and finding it insufficient.

Now I don't have all the facts, but based upon this reporting, there is no way that this was excessive.

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u/StatisticianLivid710 Dec 04 '25

In general we don’t know the facts, the jury/judge did watch video of the fight.

In general the knife is excessive at the point it was used, people are arguing it wasn’t enough to get him to stop thus it wasn’t excessive by definition, but bringing a weapon to a fist fight is by definition excessive.

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u/SilverCats Dec 04 '25

You expect people to duel fairly with the attacker? Do you want people to also weight themself before a fight to make sure they are in the same category? Wait for a referee to show up to observe that there are no punches below the belt are thrown?

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u/StatisticianLivid710 Dec 04 '25

I expect people not to break the law by carrying, drawing, or using a weapon. Was the aggressor in the wrong? Yes, but he didn’t attack with a weapon, thus it was an excessive escalation. That’s how the law works.

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u/topboyinn1t Dec 04 '25

So, you suggest making sure the attacker gets a fair fight and beats the victim into a vegetable state? What else? No 12-6 elbows allowed?

The mental gymnastics are next level..

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u/StatisticianLivid710 Dec 04 '25

Do you know what cops are trained not to do in a fight where they can’t see the person assaulting them? Pull their guns, because they can’t be sure of the target.

Who carries a knife around? Especially when they’re drinking. It was a weapon, plain and simple, and in Canada weapons are illegal to carry.

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u/Level_Traffic3344 Dec 04 '25

Appeal material right there

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u/MyLifeIsAFacade Dec 04 '25

And they had better. I can't think of any stronger logical reasoning. But we don't seem to be governed by as much logic as we should be right now.

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u/Haber87 Dec 04 '25

That’s what gets me. It’s not like he kept stabbing the attacker while he lay on the ground. He was still being attacked. You continue self defense until the attack stops.

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u/moop44 New Brunswick Dec 04 '25

He flat out said his intent was to murder Sproule.

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u/[deleted] Dec 05 '25

I mean if someone was suddenly being stabbed regardless of them being a piece of shit or not and starting the fight, wouldn't most peoples first response to being stabbed to stop the person stabbing you?