A 27-year-old Cochrane man has been found not guilty in connection with a tense standoff in the community west of Calgary last summer.
Benjamin Laslow was initially charged with two counts of carrying a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public peace, but those charges were later dropped.
Police were notified about a man who was spotted near Highway 22 carrying a weapon and dressed in camouflage in August 2014.
They eventually tracked the suspect to a home in the community where he gave himself up after a tense negotiation.
Cochrane RCMP declared the situation all clear at 9:45 p.m.
Family and friends spoke out the next day, saying that Laslo had recently been in a fight outside a bar in Cochrane. A Facebook video he posted showed him angry and swearing revenge.
The man who is accused of assaulting Laslo said he watched the coverage of Sunday’s incident, terrified for his life and that of his baby girl.
Friends also say that life circumstances could have played into Laslo’s situation. They say over the past few years, a car crash claimed the life of his sister and his mother died of cancer.
Laslo went to trial on a single charge of obstruction over the summer 2015, but was acquitted, according to his lawyer Mark Walters.
