By Spencer Sterritt

Appeal decision keeps former PAPS officer off the force

Dec 22, 2016 | 5:13 AM

After six years and numerous appeals, a Prince Albert police officer won’t be allowed back on the force now that the final decision is a dismissal.

The Court of Appeals of Saskatchewan made its decision in the matter of Constable Patrick Robin available online today, Dec. 12.

Robin’s court matters began when he was fired from the Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) in 2010.

Trial woes begin with a driving ticket

According to the appeal decision, Robin was fired for his behaviour and actions stemming from ticket he gave in 2009 for driving without reasonable consideration of others.

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When the Crown prosecutor decided to not go forward with the charge, Robin took matters into his own hands.

This included sharing the Crown’s confidential information as he took the charge to court himself and conducting what the Court of Appeal’s considered a “pattern of deceit.”

“His principle motivation was his belief that if the driver was found guilty, it would relieve pressure on him in relation to the driver’s complaint. In putting his self-interest at the forefront, he placed himself in a disqualifying conflict of interest throughout,” the decision states.

When his actions were discovered, Robin was found guilty by the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) of making false statements to investigators and accusing his superior officers of obstructing justice.

Based on the PCC’s findings, he was dismissed from the service in March 2010.

The appeal process begins

Robin appealed his dismissal and though he was suspended for nine months without pay and one year of probation, he was found suitable for police service on March 31, 2011 by a hearing officer.

The hearing officer said Robin was “capable of being rehabilitated through coaching, training and other steps.”

However, the court proceedings weren’t over yet.

The Prince Albert Police Service filed its own appeal with the Saskatchewan Police Commission on the grounds Robin’s “false and misleading” statements to investigators in the matter made him unfit for duty.

During this time, Robin cross-appealed on grounds the hearing officer’s penalty was ‘harsh and excessive.’

In the police’s appeal, the Commission found the hearing officer hadn’t considered the damage to police relations by reinstating an officer who’d been dismissed for lying and didn’t properly examine Robin’s effectiveness as an officer.

Robin was once again dismissed, which he took to the Court of Queen’s Bench for a judicial review of the Commission’s decision.

Final decisions

When the Court of Queen’s Bench agreed with the Commissions assessment and decision of Robin, he took the matter to the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan, leading to the decision handed down on Dec. 6.

According to the decision, the appeal court found there was “no reviewable error in coming to the conclusion that the Commission’s decision on penalty was reasonable (and) fell within a range of possible, acceptable outcomes.”

Prince Albert police chief Troy Cooper said he and the police consider the matter closed.

ssterritt@panow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit