The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Professional Standards Unit (PSU) has charged an officer in connection with property taken from a detachment evidence vault.
An investigation by the Professional Standards Unit, part of the OPP’s Office of Professionalism, Respect, Inclusion and Leadership, began in 2021 after it was determined that items had gone missing from the evidence locker at the Sudbury Detachment.
On April 26, 2022, Sergeant Straun FREDERIKSEN of the Sudbury Detachment was charged under the Criminal Code with:
Theft – section 322
Breach of trust – section 122
The accused was released from custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Sudbury on May 25, 2022.
The officer has been a member of the OPP for 27 years. He has been suspended with pay, under the terms of the Police Services Act, since March of this year.
https://saultonline.com/2022/04/sudbury ... r-charged/
Sudbury OPP Officer Charged
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Sudbury OPP officer charged with theft
by Thomas » Thu May 05, 2022 1:08 pm
A veteran Sudbury OPP officer has been charged in connection with property taken from a detachment evidence vault.
The OPP said the charges came through an investigation by its Professional Standards Unit that began in 2021 “after it was determined that items had gone missing from the evidence locker at the Sudbury detachment.”
On Tuesday, Sgt. Straun Frederiksen of the Sudbury detachment was criminally charged with both theft and breach of trust.
The accused was released from custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Sudbury on May 25.
Frederiksen has been a member of the OPP for 27 years.
The OPP said he has been suspended with pay, under the terms of the Police Services Act, since March of this year.
https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/loc ... with-theft
The OPP said the charges came through an investigation by its Professional Standards Unit that began in 2021 “after it was determined that items had gone missing from the evidence locker at the Sudbury detachment.”
On Tuesday, Sgt. Straun Frederiksen of the Sudbury detachment was criminally charged with both theft and breach of trust.
The accused was released from custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Sudbury on May 25.
Frederiksen has been a member of the OPP for 27 years.
The OPP said he has been suspended with pay, under the terms of the Police Services Act, since March of this year.
https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/loc ... with-theft
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Sudbury OPP sergeant accused of stealing from evidence locke
by Thomas » Thu May 05, 2022 1:08 pm
A 27-year veteran of the Ontario Provincial Police has been suspended with pay in Sudbury after being accused of stealing from the evidence vault.
"An investigation by the Professional Standards Unit, part of the OPP's Office of Professionalism, Respect, Inclusion and Leadership, began in 2021 after it was determined that items had gone missing from the evidence locker at the Sudbury detachment," police said in a news release Thursday.
As a result, OPP Sgt. Straun Frederiksen was charged with theft and breach of trust on Tuesday, after being suspended in March.
Bill Dickson, an OPP spokesperson, told CTV News in an email "the nature of items missing from the vault will be part of the evidence presented when the matters are before the courts, and cannot be released."
https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/sudb ... -1.5879830
"An investigation by the Professional Standards Unit, part of the OPP's Office of Professionalism, Respect, Inclusion and Leadership, began in 2021 after it was determined that items had gone missing from the evidence locker at the Sudbury detachment," police said in a news release Thursday.
As a result, OPP Sgt. Straun Frederiksen was charged with theft and breach of trust on Tuesday, after being suspended in March.
Bill Dickson, an OPP spokesperson, told CTV News in an email "the nature of items missing from the vault will be part of the evidence presented when the matters are before the courts, and cannot be released."
https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/sudb ... -1.5879830
Thomas, Administrator
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Thomas - Site Admin
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Veteran OPP officer says he was 'lost ... far from Jesus' at
by Thomas » Wed Jul 31, 2024 2:32 am
Veteran OPP officer says he was 'lost ... far from Jesus' at time of thefts
Sgt. Straun Frederiksen lifted two items from evidence locker at the OPP station in Sudbury
An Ontario Provincial Police sergeant who stole two items from his detachment’s evidence locker will learn in early September if he will have a criminal record.
Sgt. Straun Frederiksen also lied to his co-workers about the disappearance of the items but later admitted to his superiors he took them, a Sudbury court was told Tuesday.
“During the COVID period 2020-2021, I was lost,” Frederiksen said, reading from a letter near the end of his sentencing hearing at the Sudbury Courthouse. “I was far from my police team. I was far from Jesus. I felt alone and with no one to talk to.
“I was a hard worker told to look after his team, but could not look after himself. I felt overloaded and overwhelmed. I was given so many items to return, I didn’t know where to start.”
Frederiksen, who had been facing two charges – theft under $5,000 and breach of trust – had pleaded guilty earlier to the latter charge. A 27-year member of the OPP, Fredericksen has been suspended with pay since he was charged in April 2022.
The charges followed an investigation by the OPP’s Professional Standards Unit that began in 2021.
The two charges concerned the theft of a beaded strap and scope seized from a First Nation man when the OPP executed a search warrant.
The court heard through an agreed statement of facts that when the two items were ordered to be returned, they were missing from the evidence locker or property vault at the Sudbury OPP detachment.
Frederiksen, who was in charge of the property vault, told co-workers he knew nothing about the two items. He even indicated that in a letter to the Sudbury Crown attorney’s office.
Frederiksen, however, later told a supervisor he had taken the two items and had thrown them out. That admission led to an investigation and the charges.
Frederiksen said in his letter that after being charged, he began to address mental health issues he had been ignoring – specifically, post-traumatic stress order and depression – and has made great progress.
“This situation has brought me closer to my family and closer to Jesus,” he said. “I have changed as a man for the better. I have been volunteering, serving meals to the homeless, and it has been humbling …
“I am truly sorry for what I did … I was in such as fog when I threw them (the two items) out.”
In a letter of apology that he also read, Frederiksen apologized to the First Nation man whose items he had stolen. as well as “everyone in the policing community” with whom he had worked.
“Ignorance is no excuse: it was a lesson that was painful to learn,” he said, referring to not knowing the cultural significance of one of the items he had stolen and later tossed. “This should not reflect on the Ontario Provincial Police. I did this.”
Ontario Court Justice Graham Jenner has reserved his sentencing decision to Sept. 5.
The sentencing hearing featured 66 letters of support for Frederiksen and case law from both defence lawyer Glenn Sandberg and assistant Crown attorney David Kirk.
Sandberg is seeking a conditional discharge followed by a lengthy probation order of 18 to 24 months that includes community service, while Kirk asked for a suspended sentence and probation.
If Jenner issues a suspended sentence, Frederiksen will have a criminal record.
Frederiksen will also be dealing with Police Act charges following the conclusion of his case at the Sudbury Courthouse.
In his sentencing submission, Sandberg said Frederiksen has led a responsible and community-minded life that included 25 years of service to the province through an upstanding policing career. He said the theft of the two items from the property vault was “something completely out of character for Straun Frederiksen” and his client understands it was wrong.
“He is, if nothing, completely accepting and responsible for his actions,” said Sandberg, noting that the PTSD and depression Frederiksen was dealing with at the time are not excuses for what happened.
“He took the items during a state of confusion … There was no personal gain, no reward, for Mr. Frederiksen in the misappropriation of the items. Mr. Frederikson, to his credit, accepted responsibility for his actions from the beginning.”
It was the shooting death of a fellow officer in 2020, combined with the carnage Frederiksen had seen investigating serious motor vehicle collisions over the years, that seemed to bring his client’s mental health issues to the surface, Sandberg said.
He added that the community service aspect of Frederiksen’s probation order will be a constant reminder to his client “of the decisions he made that brought him here.”
Kirk, however, said a suspended sentence followed by probation, was the appropriate sentence and that it took into account Frederiksen’s personal circumstances.
Kirk said Frederiksen was a sergeant responsible for the property vault at his detachment and the security of exhibits/items stored inside.
“Police are entrusted to maintain and keep safe the very items they seize,” he said. “What we have here is Sgt. Frederiksen took the (two) items for himself … They were never recovered.
“There was time spent looking for the items and he remained silent, misled fellow officers, denied even seeing them … Thefts (of property vault items) can have devastating consequences to prosecutions and certain accused before the courts.”
Kirk said Frederiksen violated a sacred trust given to police officers by the public.
“Police officers are not to abuse that trust by violating laws they are obligated to enforce,” stressed the assistant Crown attorney.
Kirk said a conditional discharge would be contrary to the public interest and a suspended sentence should be imposed.
“His prolonged silence at the time telling (co-workers) ‘I don’t know anything about this’ and the email to the Crown, are aggravating features,” said Kirk. “It’s not just the taking of the materials, but the obscurification to others.”
hcarmichael@postmedia.com
X: @HaroldCarmichae
https://www.saultstar.com/news/local-ne ... -of-thefts
https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/loc ... -of-thefts
Sgt. Straun Frederiksen lifted two items from evidence locker at the OPP station in Sudbury
An Ontario Provincial Police sergeant who stole two items from his detachment’s evidence locker will learn in early September if he will have a criminal record.
Sgt. Straun Frederiksen also lied to his co-workers about the disappearance of the items but later admitted to his superiors he took them, a Sudbury court was told Tuesday.
“During the COVID period 2020-2021, I was lost,” Frederiksen said, reading from a letter near the end of his sentencing hearing at the Sudbury Courthouse. “I was far from my police team. I was far from Jesus. I felt alone and with no one to talk to.
“I was a hard worker told to look after his team, but could not look after himself. I felt overloaded and overwhelmed. I was given so many items to return, I didn’t know where to start.”
Frederiksen, who had been facing two charges – theft under $5,000 and breach of trust – had pleaded guilty earlier to the latter charge. A 27-year member of the OPP, Fredericksen has been suspended with pay since he was charged in April 2022.
The charges followed an investigation by the OPP’s Professional Standards Unit that began in 2021.
The two charges concerned the theft of a beaded strap and scope seized from a First Nation man when the OPP executed a search warrant.
The court heard through an agreed statement of facts that when the two items were ordered to be returned, they were missing from the evidence locker or property vault at the Sudbury OPP detachment.
Frederiksen, who was in charge of the property vault, told co-workers he knew nothing about the two items. He even indicated that in a letter to the Sudbury Crown attorney’s office.
Frederiksen, however, later told a supervisor he had taken the two items and had thrown them out. That admission led to an investigation and the charges.
Frederiksen said in his letter that after being charged, he began to address mental health issues he had been ignoring – specifically, post-traumatic stress order and depression – and has made great progress.
“This situation has brought me closer to my family and closer to Jesus,” he said. “I have changed as a man for the better. I have been volunteering, serving meals to the homeless, and it has been humbling …
“I am truly sorry for what I did … I was in such as fog when I threw them (the two items) out.”
In a letter of apology that he also read, Frederiksen apologized to the First Nation man whose items he had stolen. as well as “everyone in the policing community” with whom he had worked.
“Ignorance is no excuse: it was a lesson that was painful to learn,” he said, referring to not knowing the cultural significance of one of the items he had stolen and later tossed. “This should not reflect on the Ontario Provincial Police. I did this.”
Ontario Court Justice Graham Jenner has reserved his sentencing decision to Sept. 5.
The sentencing hearing featured 66 letters of support for Frederiksen and case law from both defence lawyer Glenn Sandberg and assistant Crown attorney David Kirk.
Sandberg is seeking a conditional discharge followed by a lengthy probation order of 18 to 24 months that includes community service, while Kirk asked for a suspended sentence and probation.
If Jenner issues a suspended sentence, Frederiksen will have a criminal record.
Frederiksen will also be dealing with Police Act charges following the conclusion of his case at the Sudbury Courthouse.
In his sentencing submission, Sandberg said Frederiksen has led a responsible and community-minded life that included 25 years of service to the province through an upstanding policing career. He said the theft of the two items from the property vault was “something completely out of character for Straun Frederiksen” and his client understands it was wrong.
“He is, if nothing, completely accepting and responsible for his actions,” said Sandberg, noting that the PTSD and depression Frederiksen was dealing with at the time are not excuses for what happened.
“He took the items during a state of confusion … There was no personal gain, no reward, for Mr. Frederiksen in the misappropriation of the items. Mr. Frederikson, to his credit, accepted responsibility for his actions from the beginning.”
It was the shooting death of a fellow officer in 2020, combined with the carnage Frederiksen had seen investigating serious motor vehicle collisions over the years, that seemed to bring his client’s mental health issues to the surface, Sandberg said.
He added that the community service aspect of Frederiksen’s probation order will be a constant reminder to his client “of the decisions he made that brought him here.”
Kirk, however, said a suspended sentence followed by probation, was the appropriate sentence and that it took into account Frederiksen’s personal circumstances.
Kirk said Frederiksen was a sergeant responsible for the property vault at his detachment and the security of exhibits/items stored inside.
“Police are entrusted to maintain and keep safe the very items they seize,” he said. “What we have here is Sgt. Frederiksen took the (two) items for himself … They were never recovered.
“There was time spent looking for the items and he remained silent, misled fellow officers, denied even seeing them … Thefts (of property vault items) can have devastating consequences to prosecutions and certain accused before the courts.”
Kirk said Frederiksen violated a sacred trust given to police officers by the public.
“Police officers are not to abuse that trust by violating laws they are obligated to enforce,” stressed the assistant Crown attorney.
Kirk said a conditional discharge would be contrary to the public interest and a suspended sentence should be imposed.
“His prolonged silence at the time telling (co-workers) ‘I don’t know anything about this’ and the email to the Crown, are aggravating features,” said Kirk. “It’s not just the taking of the materials, but the obscurification to others.”
hcarmichael@postmedia.com
X: @HaroldCarmichae
https://www.saultstar.com/news/local-ne ... -of-thefts
https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/loc ... -of-thefts
Thomas, Administrator
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Thomas - Site Admin
- Posts: 2624
- Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:18 pm
- Location: Canada
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