Pubdate: Thu, 19 Feb 2015
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Larry Pynn and Kim Bolan
Page: A1

PROBE OF POLICE STALLS DRUG CASES

Files under review after allegations against Abbotsford officers over
search warrants

Federal prosecutors are reviewing a number of Abbotsford drug cases
after an investigation uncovered 148 allegations of misconduct by 17
officers in the Fraser Valley department.

Most of the allegations relate to the documents officers took to court
to obtain search warrants in drug investigations.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner on Wednesday revealed
some details of the investigation.

"The allegations are serious in nature and primarily relate to issues
with the integrity of statements that were provided by police officers
to judicial officers pursuant to the authorization process for search
warrants," Commissioner Stanley Lowe said.

As a result, a review of some prosecutions is underway, said Sujata
Raisinghani of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. She would not
say how many cases are involved or how far back in time the review
goes.

"We initiated a file review ... and have begun taking steps to address
them," she said.

Asked for the number of cases or scope of the review, she said:
"There's nothing more we can provide you."

Criminal charges have already been stayed in more than 10 drug cases
in the past year due to the investigation of the police officers,
Abbotsford police Chief Bob Rich said in a 30-minute one-on-one
interview with The Vancouver Sun.

Rich said he hopes the charges can be reinstated once the OPCC
investigation is concluded.

"The matters that involved these members, we're putting to one side
for now and they might be proceeded on later," he said.

Some of the cases under review involved Abbotsford police Const.
Christopher Nicholson, who was charged in May 2013 with several
criminal offences, including breach of trust, obstruction of justice
and conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance. He is due to go to
trial in May 2016.

OPCC deputy commissioner Rollie Woods said of the 148 allegations, 58
relate to Nicholson, while the other 90 involve the other 16
Abbotsford officers.

The allegations being probed are not criminal in nature, but alleged
violations of the Police Act, Woods said.

Rich said police earlier informed Crown counsel of "20 or more"
criminal cases involving Nicholson, and that to his knowledge none of
the cases were tossed out of court.

Allegations against Nicholson were raised by other Abbotsford officers
in 2012 and a criminal investigation was launched by the Vancouver
police at Rich's request.

Once the spotlight was focused on the department, other issues were
identified and the New Westminster police department was asked to
conduct a Police Act investigation. Rich said he takes responsibility
for not taking action sooner to head off the scandal sweeping through
his department.

"I wish this hadn't happened," Rich said. "We found that our policies
were not tight enough, that our training was not good enough and I
take full responsibility for that on behalf of our members.

"Both of those things should have been better, and (if they had been)
our members would not be in the place they are now. That's my fault.

"When members make mistakes, and some of that comes from the fact you
haven't provided really stringent training and procedures that make it
very difficult to make those mistakes, then I should bear
responsibility for that."

Rich said he is confident no new criminal charges will be laid other
than those already filed against Nicholson, although it's possible
some of the other 16 officers under investigation may face
disciplinary action.

"I have found this really hard," said Rich, chief of the 220-member
department for about six years. "But I completely believe in my
members. I ain't giving up."

The 16 officers continue to be paid and are on duty but are no longer
part of the 10-officer drug section.

"The Police Complaint Commissioner has cast a wide net and a large
number of people are going to be investigated," Rich continued. "I
believe in the other 16 police officers involved in this matter. We're
talking about 16 people who have integrity and are trying to serve
this community in hard times."

Rich said some of the issues are administrative. For example, a single
signature on a document to obtain a search warrant when two are
required. In other cases, officers didn't include enough background on
the criminal history of confidential informants whose tips were used
to obtain search warrants.

Vancouver police were also asked to audit Abbotsford's
informant-handling process and the Abbotsford force implemented
changes as a result, Rich said.

"So, both out of the criminal investigation and the audit, we've now
taken a 50,000-lumen spotlight and found all the things that weren't
exactly the way they should have been," Rich said. "My belief is that
many of these officers, it will turn out they've made some mistakes,
some neglected their duty.

"But what they're facing right now are deceit allegations. Making
mistakes is different from trying to deceive the court."

Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun, who chairs the police board, said that
while he understands the concern over the information released
Wednesday, people should wait for the final report before jumping to
conclusions.

"It's important to remember that this investigation began with the
Abbotsford Police Department officers," Braun said. "That fact alone
speaks volumes about the integrity of the Abbotsford Police Department.

"I have complete faith in the Office of the Police Complaint
Commissioner. I also have faith in the Abbotsford Police Department,"
he said.

Woods said Lowe released details of the probe mid-investigation
because the allegations are so serious that the public should be informed.

He said OPCC has not received disclosure from New Westminster police
yet, so doesn't know how many prosecutions could be affected.

"We have asked the police to look into that aspect of it. The
commissioner is concerned that is a potential outcome - unsafe
prosecutions," Woods said.

John Conroy, a criminal lawyer in Abbotsford for more than 40 years,
said irregularities in obtaining a search warrant would not
automatically result in a case being tossed out due to inadmissibility
of evidence.

He said the court would have to consider whether police actions
involved a deliberate attempt to mislead a justice of the peace or
judge, or were accidental and whether they were serious enough to
bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

"It's quite a concern," he noted.

Former solicitor general and longtime police officer Kash Heed said
the timing of the OPCC release in the middle of an investigation is
troubling.

"These are Police Act allegations. They are not even Police Act
charges," he said. "The troubling part here is the perception that's
being played out - the perception of these officers who are going out
there each and every day, working hard with integrity."

B.C. Justice Minister Suzanne Anton said "it is concerning when you
hear allegations like that but it's in the hands of the police
complaints commissioner, which is the right place for it to be, and
I'm very confident in that officer."

"I would like to observe that the original reference did come from the
Abbotsford police chief, so as you know he's been involved in the case
all along and is doing the right thing."
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MAP posted-by: Matt