An independent review into how Fredericton police conduct major crime investigations has found “limitations” in how the force deals with complex cases.
The review was launched this year after the force admitted in June that errors they made led to a stay of proceedings in two deaths.
“The investigators’ investigations were generally well managed until the point where the cases became more complex, at which stage limitations began to surface,” said Ian D. Scott, a lawyer and former director of Ontario’s police watchdog, who was tasked with conducting the review.
“The stay of these charges shook public confidence in the criminal justice system and deprived everyone, especially the family members, of a public trial.”
The report did not find any substantial criminal or disciplinary misconduct by any of the officers involved in the cases.
Donelan and Markey homicides
Erica Blyth and Joshua McIsaac were charged with first-degree murder in the 2022 death of Brandon Donelan, 27, in Minto, N.B.
Devon Hood and Matthew LeBlanc were also set to be tried separately on the same charges in the same case.
McIsaac was also charged with second-degree murder, along with Travis Snowsell, in the 2021 shooting of Corey Markey in Fredericton.
However, the Fredericton Police Force said in June that an “insurmountable evidentiary issue” had caused all three proceedings to be stayed. Fredericton Police Force Chief Gary Forward issued an apology at the time and promised the independent review.
“In these cases, when faced with knowledge of an evidentiary issue that undermined the integrity of the continued prosecutions, the Office of the Attorney General did what it had to do: it stayed the charges,” said Scott.
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“We can only surmise that whatever the issue was, it was of such importance to these prosecutions that they could not continue.”
Scott said while he’s “aware of the facts,” he cannot share details about what happened “to clear the air” because the laws prohibit disclosing the information. Neither Scott nor the police department can even disclose when the error occurred.
“(The Canada Evidence Act and case law) not only prevent me, they prevent anybody within the criminal justice system from disclosing this information,” he added.
Scott told reporters he has spoken to the family members of the homicide victims who were impacted by the stay of proceedings, saying, “They’re upset. They feel they’ve been poorly treated by the criminal justice system, and I feel for them.”
Scott’s report made 19 recommendations to improve oversight, training, file prioritization and staffing.
A couple of the recommendations cover training and the importance of keeping up to date.
“One of the issues that comes up with policing, I’ve seen this over and over again, is regrettably, how quickly people move. They move into various specialized forces, units, they get trained there, and then they move on to other ones, or they get promoted or they retire,” said Scott.
“What we’re trying to do, I think, with a lot of these recommendations is to regularize and systematize that knowledge and that information so that as new individuals come in, we’re not relying solely on custom.”
‘I wish I had a better way to describe it’
Police Chief Forward said Friday that he accepted full responsibility for the error.
“I recognize the profound impact this has had, not only on the families, but on public confidence in our police force and the justice system,” he said.
“We are here today not to make excuses. We are here to acknowledge our mistake, to learn from it, and to do better moving forward.”
Forward said he knew it was frustrating that they legally couldn’t share details on what the error entailed, and struggled to describe it.
“I don’t think mistake covers it. I don’t think error covers it. And I know that there’s been obviously some comments that indicate that the police may not be taking this as seriously as we should. I wish I had a better way to describe it,” he said.
“This is something that never should have happened. I can tell you that the officer or officers involved, there was nothing malicious in the issue that took place. But at the end of the day, this resulted in the stay of proceedings and two homicides.”
He added that from the “moment that the error was discovered,” police acted quickly to disclose it to the Crown and the public.
The report found that a member of the force who may have faced discipline as a result of the error is actually no longer with Fredericton police. Forward said the member left the force prior to June 27 when the error was identified and reported.
Forward said “while no criminal wrongdoing was found, the effects have been significant” on members of the force.
“I think at the end of the day, they are more committed than ever to making sure that every step, every recommendation that’s been cited in Mr. Scott’s report is implemented to a level of due diligence that we can ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” he said.
The chief said the force intends to follow the recommendations and report their progress through quarterly public updates.
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