Pubdate: Thu, 19 Feb 2015
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.theprovince.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Sam Cooper
Page: 3

PROBE COULD PUT POLICE WORK IN JEOPARDY

Corruption Alleged

If Search Warrants Were Flawed, Convictions May Have Been False

In a shocking probe of alleged police corruption in Abbotsford, 
hundreds of drug search warrants dating from at least 2005 will be 
examined, amid fears that notorious gang cases will be reopened and 
convictions overturned.

Abbotsford grew into a North American centre of drug dealing and 
murders over the past 15 years, with bloody cases involving the Red 
Scorpions, Hells Angels and United Nations gangs spilling into the 
community and eventually its courtrooms.

Since 2010, Abbotsford police have been credited with aggressively 
disrupting drug networks and putting big-name gangsters in jail.

But with the announcement Wednesday of a probe by the Office of the 
Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) into 148 misconduct allegations 
against 17 Abbotsford officers, the force's success and integrity 
were called into question.

Most of the allegations relate to falsification of search warrants. 
Police complaints commissioner Stan Lowe is concerned that flawed 
warrants could have led to false convictions, and could weaken B.C.'s 
justice system.

Lawyer Ken Westlake, whose firm has represented accused gangsters, 
including Jamie Bacon and Jon Bacon, said his staff was busy combing 
through case files Wednesday looking for shaky search warrants.

"We believe that some of these people have authored warrants in some 
of our cases," Westlake said. "I think lawyers in general will be 
looking (for warrants to be questioned inAbbotsford)."

Jamie Bacon faces a 2015 trial in the Surrey Six slaying. His 
brother, Jon Bacon, was shot dead outside a Kelowna resort in 2012, 
and brother Jarrod was convicted for conspiring to traffic cocaine in 
2009. The three were targeted by the UN gang in a war that gripped 
the Fraser Valley in 2009.

"There (are) hundreds of search warrants that are being looked into 
in Abbotsford" going back to 2005 or further, OPCC spokesman Rollie 
Woods told The Province. "If we come across any information 
suggesting there was a prosecution with a search warrant that was 
flawed, that will be raised with the federal prosecution services."

Woods said Abbotsford police have turned over only a minimal amount 
of the evidence needed to determine if Abbotsford's issues go deeper 
than the cop who triggered the wider probe.

Const. Christopher Nicholson started with the force in 2005 and was 
charged criminally in 2013.

Nicholson allegedly tipped off a confidential source to a pending 
drug bust, and filed information for dozens of questionable warrants 
leading to searches against other drug dealers and gangsters.

The case against Nicholson suggests he was helping his source get an 
advantage on competitors and gain drug market share, experts told The Province.

None of the charges against Nicholson has been proven and it is not 
clear if he was involved with any of the warrants under review.

Simon Fraser University Prof. Rob Gordon said it's too early to say 
whether cases based on Abbotsford police search warrants are in jeopardy.

"You can bet that there will be criminal defence lawyers running 
around filing for disclosures (on case evidence) and looking for 
wrongful convictions," Gordon said. "It's going to be a circus."

Abbotsford police Chief Bob Rich, who came from the Vancouver Police 
Department in 2008, and his Abby drug cops appeared to gain the upper 
hand on Abbotsford gangs with innovative policing. But with the size 
of the problem Rich faced, Gordon said, it's not surprising 
allegations of corruption are coming to light. Gordon said he has 
confidence in Rich and doesn't believe the whole APD is in question.

In 2010, Const. Ian MacDonald spoke to The Province about the 
innovative tactics that Rich's drug cops used. Cops confronted 
gangsters and their associates and worked sources to increase 
intelligence gathering, with the end goal of snuffing out violence. 
It worked, with murders dropping from 11 in 2009 to four in 2010.

MacDonald was asked if Abbotsford officers are worried that headway 
against gangs will fall apart, and big cases will crumble.

"Any reasonable person would have concerns," MacDonald said.

"But I work with these officers. I can say with confidence that once 
this review is concluded I believe there will not be questions about 
the APD's integrity. If I felt there would be dominoes falling left 
and right, I wouldn't be saying that."
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