Ontario Provincial Police officers reprimanded for 'litany o

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. The Charter guarantees certain political rights to Canadian citizens and civil rights of everyone in Canada from the policies and actions of all areas and levels of government. It is designed to unify Canadians around a set of principles that embody those rights.

Ontario Provincial Police officers reprimanded for 'litany o

Postby Thomas » Sat Apr 16, 2022 10:47 am

Ontario Provincial Police officers reprimanded for 'litany of Charter breaches' in Midland shooting probe

A Midland man was shot twice at a condominium in May 2019

A young offender was acquitted of all charges in connection with an OPP investigation that stems from a 2019 shooting in Midland.

But two officers involved in the investigation were reprimanded for their 'flagrant' breach of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

According to court documents, the shooting happened in a condominium parking lot May 10.

Seven shots were fired and a man was hit twice. Two suspects left in a stolen vehicle, which was abandoned nearby. They were never identified.

The victim survived, but was unco-operative with police. But he told OPP officers he was concerned those involved would return to "finish the job."

That information, along with an increase in violent crime in Midland during that time, led police to beef up patrols in town.

Security footage from May 29 showed two vehicles enter the parking lot around 10:11 p.m., drive around and then exit, only to return six minutes later and park in almost the same spot as the suspects from May 10. One of the vehicles had paper over the licence plate to obscure the number.

Midland police Det.-Const. McKinney and Sgt. Coulter were on patrol that night, and they pulled into the parking lot around 12:40 a.m. May 30.

As they blocked the Hyundai Elantra, a passenger in the front seat ran away.

The officers drew their guns and the driver was asked to exit the vehicle. He did so with his hands raised above his head. A 16-year-old boy in the back seat was also asked to exit, and he did so with his hands above his head. He cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The court heard after the young offender was handcuffed he was dragged towards the police cruiser and violently thrown up against it before being placed in the back seat.

The officers called for backup, and McKinney started looking inside the vehicle, where a gun was found on the back passenger footwell, partially hidden by a reclined front seat.

The driver and young offender were later taken to the police station and charged with trespassing and weapons offences. The passenger was also later arrested and charged.

Justice Angela McLeod, in her Feb. 11, ruling, found the young offender wasn't properly told about his rights in regards to legal counsel until he was taken to the station — more than 46 minutes after his arrest.

"The officers testified that any delay was due to public safety and officer safety concerns. I disagree," McLeod said in her ruling. "Both subjects were handcuffed and then placed into officer vehicles. There was a minimum of three officers on the scene. The delay is a flagrant disregard for the Charter."

She also said the officers erred when they searched the vehicle for a gun.

"There were no exigent circumstances to search for a gun, which is not what the officers testified that they were doing in any event," McLeod said. "McKinney was not truthful in his evidence about searching the vehicle."

And with the front passenger seat reclined, McLeod doubted the young offender was even sitting behind it in the back, and he would not have seen a gun lying on the floor.

"There is a litany of Charter breaches," McLeod said. "The breaches were deliberate and flagrant. The officer’s testimony about their actions was contrived and disbelieved. The officers were not acting in good faith."

She deemed the evidence was illegally obtained, and if she allowed it in court, it would "bring the administration of justice into disrepute."

Simcoe.com reached out to the OPP, but was told the officers involved will not be providing a comment.

https://www.simcoe.com/news-story/10583 ... ing-probe/
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