WARNING: This story 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 stormed out of the courtroom.
On Wednesday, a Calgary judge announced that John Sproule would serve a two-year suspended sentence of house arrest.
Originally charged with second-degree murder, Sproule, 23, was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury earlier this year for fatally stabbing Brogden while outside a Banff bar in September 2022.
But it was Brogden, 27, who first attacked Sproule when he pushed and punched the 20-year-old and continued the assault by punching and shaking the younger man down the street.
Sproule was found to be acting in self-defence but used “more force than necessary”, King’s Bench Judge Johanna Price said.
“This was a situation close to self-defense and not a murder,” Price said during his sentencing decision Wednesday.
“John was defending himself… but his response was extreme.”
Forty seconds into Brogden’s assault, Sproule, whose shirt covered his head and face, pulled out a pocket knife and began punching and stabbing his attacker.
Brogden suffered 19 stab wounds and cuts.
Price described Brogden as a “good man whose life mattered,” but said “sending John to jail won’t bring Ryden back.”
“This is a challenging case and I recognize that it can be difficult to understand how someone can stab and kill and not face prison time,” Price said.
The judge went on to describe the facts of the case as “exceptional.”
He also noted that Sproule is not a danger to the community and expressed remorse.
240 hours of community service
Meanwhile, Brogden’s family expressed anger and anguish at the thought that Sproule would not spend any time in custody, several murmured during Price’s decision and others abruptly left the courtroom.
Prosecutors Vince Pingitore and Mykel Long asked the judge to impose a prison sentence of five to six years, while defense attorneys Cory Wilson and Matthew Browne argued for a two-year suspended sentence order or an 18-month jail term.
A conditional sentence order is served at home. In this case, Sproule will be under 24-hour house arrest for two years and must complete 240 hours of community service. He will also be on probation for two years once his suspended sentence order has been completed.
After Price left the courtroom, Sproule hugged his mother, brother and girlfriend.
the fight
Over the September 2022 long weekend, Sproule visited Banff with his family. On Friday night, he and his brother were bar-hopping in the mountain town.
Meanwhile, Brogden and his friend had stopped in Banff on their way to Radium for a fishing trip. Friends also went from bar to bar.
“The Sproule brothers were in good spirits and engaged in friendly conversations with customers and staff at the various locations,” Price wrote in his conclusions.
But the judge found Brogden and his friend developed animosity towards the brothers at the High Rollers bar and spoke to bouncers about them. Sproule “was not aware” of that animosity, the judge noted.
sucker punch
Not long after the two groups left High Rollers, the men ended up outside the now-closed Dancing Sasquatch, where Sproule asked to burn Brogden a cigarette.
Brogden told him to “fuck you,” then punched and pushed him.
Video from the bar shows the initial physical altercation.
Brogden pulled Sproule’s shirt over his head and continued the attack, punching him repeatedly.
‘I’m going to kill you’
Video from a nearby business and cell phone show the couple fighting as Brogden throws Sproule down the sidewalk.
Sproule testified, and the judge accepted, that Brogden said several times, “I’m going to kill you.”
With his shirt covering his face, Sproule pulled out his pocket knife and began swinging it at Brogden and stabbing him.
“John didn’t know where his knife was connected,” Price said.
‘His response was excessive’
Brogden suffered 12 stab wounds and seven sharp force injuries.
The fight between the two reached an empty patio. At that point, a bouncer arrived and pulled Brogden off of Sproule, who ran away.
The jury was presented with photographs of Sproule’s injuries, including wounds to his face, head, chin and chest.
In his findings of fact, Price ruled that Sproule was acting in self-defense, but that “his response was excessive, stabbing and cutting Mr. Brogden a total of 19 times.”
Price ruled that this “was more force than was necessary to repel Mr. Brogden’s attack.”
