CITYnews halifax: Lower Sackville man faces multiple charges in intimate partner violence case

CITYnews halifax / By Chris Halef

A Lower Sackville man is facing a long list of charges in connection to case of intimate partner violence.

On May 20, officers responded to a report that a woman had been assaulted by a man known to her. Then the following day, that same man reported he had been assaulted by the woman.

According to RCMP, officers determined this was a case of intimate partner violence, with the man being the dominant aggressor.

Mounties said they arrested the man on Wednesday, adding a search warrant was executed at his home on Bruce Drive where officers seized a loaded handgun, drugs and cash.

Related:

• ‘Significant gaps’ in health care knowledge in addressing violence against women: Study
• 2023 Bible Hill death was intimate partner violence, says RCMP
• Halifax RCMP lay attempted murder charge in case of intimate partner violence

Police said Dhari Salman Shalaan, 34, has been charged with:

• Assault by choking
• Possession for the purpose of trafficking (cocaine)
• Possession for the purpose of trafficking (methamphetamine)
• Possession for the purpose of trafficking (oxycodone)
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm
• Possession of unauthorized firearm
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm in motor vehicle
• Possession of a restricted firearm
• Careless use or storage of a firearm
• Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
• Possession of a weapon contrary to order
• Possession of property obtained by crime

Shalaan was scheduled to appear in Dartmouth Provincial Court on Friday.

Supreme Court to take firmer stance on intimate violence

The Criminal Code will soon be updated to allow the killer of an intimate partner to be charged with first-degree murder regardless of whether the act was premeditated.

Bill C-225, which received royal assent in Parliament on Wednesday, will make first-degree murder applicable to killings that happen as part of a pattern of coercive or controlling conduct. The act will also help track incidents of intimate partner violence in Canada’s justice system by creating a specific offence for such attacks.

Frank Caputo, Conservative MP for Kamloops-Thomson-Nicola, put forward the private member’s bill, which is rare they become law.

The Criminal Code will be updated with the new offence in 30 days. Caputo called the legislation the “most consequential change” to the justice system in modern legal history when it comes to intimate partner violence.

“No longer will you have assault being the charge when somebody abuses their intimate partner. It will be violence against an intimate partner,” he said.