Judge tosses evidence, rebukes P.A. police ISET unit for ‘serious and systemic breaches’

Wilde received the texts from his informant around 9 a.m. April 3, 2019. Thirty-seven minutes later Wilde had already prepared the Information to Obtain a Warrant (ITO), submitted the legal document to a justice of the peace for approval, and assembled a search team.

With a warrant and a key to the apartment, the team arrived at Dorion’s apartment an hour after receiving the informant’s texts. Instead of knocking on the door, one of the constables crouched down and attempted to unlock it. Hussein then opened the door with a piece of pizza in his hand.

Hussein was quickly tackled and arrested. As they searched their suspect, officers located a cellphone, $250 cash, an Alberta licence, and a bag containing 35.2 grams of crack cocaine.

Hussein and Dorion were charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

‘Unknown black male’

Calling the case ‘paper-thin’, Judge Felicia Daunt said basing the investigation on one tip from an informant was ‘troubling’ and led to “serious and systemic” breaches of Dorion and Hussein’s Charter rights.

She delivered several reprimands to members of the Prince Albert Police ISET team.

“The tip was not credible and far short of compelling, so corroboration was crucial before a warrant could be properly issued in this case,” Daunt’s decision stated. “Police made no attempt to discover anything current to corroborate this informer’s tip. They did not investigate at all.”

A particularly pointed remark specifically called out Const. Wilde for his paperwork leading up to the search of Dorion’s home. Wilde testified throughout his career he’s drafted between 30 to 40 ITO’s seeking a warrant and has participated in over 100 searches.

“If the ITO before this court is typical of those investigations, it is disturbing to think so many private homes might have been searched in such a short time on such insubstantial evidence,” Daunt said.

The judge also questioned why the justice of the peace approved the warrant based on the information provided.

“In this case, there was no urgency to warrant such a hasty investigation. No hostage was tied up in a closet waiting to be rescued. No one was in danger. In this case, both ISET and the justice who issued the search warrant were required to take more time, to be more thorough,” the decision said.

Daunt pointed out an informant benefits from special privileges of remaining anonymous. They are not beholden to tell the truth as they do not have to testify, therefore there is a higher risk of false allegations.

But possibly the sternest rebuke was for the police response to the term “unknown black male” which Daunt said is an unlikely term the informant used.

“People do not talk like that. Rather “unknown black male” is police-speak for whatever the informant did say. At best, it is a paraphrase. At worst, it is a sanitized version of a racial epithet,” she wrote.

“‘Black male’ is a category, not a description. The phrase ‘unknown black male’ is so broad as to encompass every single member of that race and gender, from babe in arms to aged invalid, from bearded to clean shaven, from long-haired to pink-haired to bald, from wheelchair-bound to able-bodied,” Daunt wrote. “While Prince Albert may not be the most cosmopolitan of cities, neither is it homogenous. We are the third largest city in Saskatchewan. We have several industries. We have an Arts Centre. We host sports tournaments. We welcome refugees and immigrants from all over the world. ‘Black males’ live here, work here, and visit here.”

Charter violations

Daunt determined the warrant to search Dorion’s apartment to be invalid as it was issued without reasonable grounds and based on hearsay from the informant.

Because the warrant was tossed, all subsequent evidence collected by the police was also deemed invalid.

Daunt said without a warrant, the police were trespassing at Dorion’s apartment. They were not lawfully invited into the apartment and all observations of Hussein’s race and gender were gathered in violation of his privacy rights.

“Our local police, especially ISET, being a specialized unit, should know that one vague uncorroborated tip cannot provide grounds for either a search warrant or a warrantless arrest. This case shows either an ignorance of Charter standards or a wilful disregard for them. Either way, the police cannot be said to be acting in good faith. This aggravates the seriousness of the breach,” she wrote.

Hussein, who was released 15 days after his arrest in 2019, is not likely to face trial given Crown has no evidence to support its case. Dorion’s charges were stayed by the Crown.

P.A. Police response

Speaking to paNOW, Jon Bergen, the chief of the P.A.Police Service, said his department would review the court decision, make their observations, and consult with the federal Crown.

“If there are any adjustments we need to make to do things differently to meet the expectations of the court, we will do that,” he said.

As for how police should handle text messages from informants, Bergen said that would be part of their review.

“We’ll look back at previous cases and see what is different [in this case]” he said. “As information is received [by police officers], sometimes that needs to be managed confidentially as it can be quite sensitive …so we have to be cautious about how we receive it and handle it.”

While acknowledging the need to review practices, Bergen was eager to highlight the previous successes of the ISET unit.

“Our police service, and I think our entire community, has celebrated the fantastic work of this street enforcement team and their aggressive enforcement of trafficking of illicit drugs in our community, ” he said. “We are proud of the work and we continue to support [it] going forward, and we need to make sure we are meeting the expectations of the courts in doing that.”

You can read Daunt’s decision here.

Editor’s Note: This story was edited on March 12 to include information about the federal Crown’s appeal of Daunt’s decision.

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panews@jpbg.ca

by paNOW Staff

Judge tosses evidence, rebukes P.A. police ISET unit for ‘serious and systemic breaches’

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