A Winnipeg man who served time for drunkenly slamming a minivan into an off-duty police officer riding a motorcycle in 2023 is accused of getting behind the wheel, despite court orders.
Braedon Lee Gordon, 25, is charged with one count of driving while prohibited for an incident on March 2. His next court date is later this month.
Dan Léveillé, a veteran Winnipeg Police Service constable who was left with life-altering injuries in the June 14, 2023, collision, said he was not surprised to learn of the new charge.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Dan Léveillé, a police constable, was on his way to work when Braedon Lee Gordon turned into the officer’s path in June 2023.
“This is just another one of those stories, where a habitual, repeat offender is charged for the same offence. After having served time, his behaviour continues,” said Léveillé.
“The only way things are going to change is if there’s a culture change from the top on down, so that’s the Supreme Court of Canada, which would likely mean there would have to be a new political party leading the country.”
Gordon was handed 35 months in prison after pleading guilty in July 2024 to one count of driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08 causing bodily harm over the 2023 crash.
Gordon was already ordered not to get behind the wheel at the time of the 2023 collision and had three prior alcohol-related driving convictions on his record.
Léveillé, now 53, was riding his motorcycle to work around 6 a.m. that day, when Gordon turned his minivan into the officer’s path at Talbot Avenue and Levis Street and struck him head on.
Léveillé was thrown onto the minivan’s windshield and landed on the road several metres away.
SUPPLIED
Dan Léveillé at therapy while recovering from a motorcycle crash in June 2023.
At the 2024 hearing, the judge prohibited Gordon, whom Manitoba Public Insurance had already barred from driving in the province for life, from driving for eight years by court order.
Based on his experience as a police officer, Léveillé said he thinks repeat offenders like Gordon only stop breaching orders and committing further offences when behind bars or dead.
Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
“I’m not surprised, but I’m pleased that he’s (possibly) going to be punished again, if only for the fact that the longer he’s behind bars, the less likely he can hurt somebody else, because one of these days, he’s going to take somebody’s life,” he said.
Léveillé suffered a fractured spine and pelvis, ruptured rectum, a broken arm, leg and nose and other injuries only discovered after several days in hospital.
He now uses a cane or walker to walk, which he can only do for a limited period, so typically uses a wheelchair when leaving the house, he said. Léveillé remains a police officer, but is now considered a supernumerary and can’t actively work.
SUPPLIED
Dan Léveillé suffered a fractured spine and pelvis, ruptured rectum, broken arm and other injuries in the crash.
“Physically, though I’ve improved with my walker or cane, I can’t go very far without sitting to rest,” he said. “I’m still in pain every day.”
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.