EDMONTON — A police officer who was run down by a car before he was stabbed in the street grew emotional Thursday as he told a jury about the attack.
Const. Mike Chernyk said he saw a vehicle approaching and heard an engine revving as he was directing traffic outside an Edmonton Eskimos football game in September 2017.
“I thought the vehicle was going to hit me, so I turned to my left to get out of the way,” he testified Thursday. “I thought I gave myself enough time to move out of the way of the vehicle but that didn’t happen.”
Chernyk broke down in tears and grabbed for a tissue before he continued.
“The next thing I remember … I was going through the air and tucking my chin to my chest.”
He then remembers someone on top of him.
“I could feel the top of my head burning and my hairline was very wet,” he said. “It was at that moment that I realized there was a black male on top of me, stabbing me with a knife.”
Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 32, has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges, including attempted murder and dangerous driving.
He is also charged with aggravated assault against Chernyk.
It’s alleged that after the attack on the officer, Sharif fled and drove a speeding U-Haul van through Edmonton’s downtown, striking four pedestrians.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2019.
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Colette Derworiz, The Canadian Press
The Canadian Press
