RCMP charges one of its own in Moncton with crimes against a child
Independant watchdog SIRT involved in investigation of unnamed officer
The RCMP have charged one of their officers with criminal offences against a child following an investigation by the Serious Incident Response Team.
According to a news release from SIRT, the officer was charged on Monday "under Part V (five) of the Criminal Code."
The heading on that section of the criminal code is "sexual offences, public morals and disorderly conduct."
The release also said SIRT worked with the RCMP's Integrated Child Exploitation unit and Digital Forensic Services.
When reached by phone Monday afternoon, SIRT director Erin Nauss said the officer was stationed with the Codiac RCMP at the time of the alleged offences, but is now working outside New Brunswick.
She also confirmed that the complainant is a child and that the offences are alleged to have occurred "at or near Shediac" between April 24 and 29.
Erin Nauss, director of the Serious Incident Response Team, also known as SIRT. (Submitted by Erin Nauss)
Nauss declined to provide any more details, saying it is important to protect the integrity of the investigation and court process.
The RCMP in New Brunswick were asked to provide information about the officer's employment status, but have not responded to the request.
SIRT is responsible for investigating all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and intimate partner violence or other matters of a public interest that may have arisen from the actions of a police officer.
The Nova Scotia-based response team investigates incidents in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where they opened an office in Marysville Place in Fredericton last October.
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Independent watchdog investigating after man dies following 'interaction' with RCMP in Shediac
Unidentified 43-year-old died after being Tasered by police during medical call
The Serious Incident Response Team is investigating an incident in Shediac last week that led to the death of a 43-year-old man after an "interaction" with RCMP during a medical call.
According to a news release from SIRT on Wednesday, emergency medical services were sent to a residence on May 29 for a man "in medical distress." Southeast RCMP were called to assist.
"When police arrived, they entered the residence and located the male," states the news release. "An altercation ensued between police and the male and a taser was deployed."
The man went into "medical distress" and was taken to hospital where he later died.
When reached by phone Wednesday, SIRT director Erin Nauss said the incident occurred at an apartment in Shediac. She declined to provide other details, including the nature of the medical problem, since they will become part of the investigation of the incident.
The team is responsible for investigating all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and intimate partner violence or other matters of a public interest that may have arisen from the actions of a police officer.
Erin Nauss, director of the Serious Incident Response Team, also known as SIRT. (Submitted by Erin Nauss)
The Nova Scotia-based response team investigates incidents in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Last October, SIRT opened a New Brunswick office in Marysville Place in Fredericton. Earlier in the year, the province finalized an agreement with Nova Scotia to expand SIRT to New Brunswick, with its own office and resources, to investigate serious incidents involving police officers — and more than two years after an agreement in principle.
The Nova Scotia-based response team has been the go-to agency, but it didn't always have the resources to take on New Brunswick investigations, forcing the province to look elsewhere for cases, including the two high-profile shooting deaths of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi in June 2020.
Nauss said SIRT currently has 10 "active/open" investigations in New Brunswick.
All SIRT investigations "are under the direction and control of an independent civilian director, who has the sole authority to determine if charges should be laid at the conclusion of an investigation," according to the press release on the Shediac incident.
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Saturday 25 November 2023
Independent police watchdog agency to open office in N.B.
Independent police watchdog agency opens N.B. office in Fredericton
Nova Scotia-based Serious Incident Response Team plans to hire an assistant director, 2 investigators soon
It comes more than nine months after the province finalized an agreement for Nova Scotia to expand its Serious Incident Response Team, known as SIRT, to New Brunswick, with its own office and resources, to investigate serious incidents involving police officers — and more than two years after an agreement in principle.
The Nova Scotia-based response team has been the go-to agency, but it didn't always have the resources to take on New Brunswick investigations, forcing the province to look elsewhere for cases, including the two high-profile shooting deaths of Chantel Moore and Rodney Levi in June 2020.
The Fredericton office opened at Marysville Place in October and its lone investigator is a seconded RCMP officer, said Erin Nauss, interim director of SiRT, based in Halifax.
"We are taking on all matters still in New Brunswick on an ad hoc basis until we have that office fully staffed," she said.
"But in effect we are taking on all matters in New Brunswick. Our officers from Nova Scotia have been travelling to assist as needed when our one seconded officer is not able to handle all that work."
Filling positions is among 'highest priorities'
SIRT is in the process of hiring an assistant director and two full-time investigators for New Brunswick, said Nauss. The postings closed about two weeks ago. An administrative support position will also be posted soon.
"It's one of my highest priorities to have these positions filled in New Brunswick so that we can be fully operational," said Nauss, who stepped into the interim director role last month after the former director, Alonzo Wright, was appointed a provincial court judge.
Erin
Nauss, interim director of Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response
Team, says getting the New Brunswick office fully operational is a
priority. (Submitted by Erin Nauss)
"We've been managing to provide excellent service to date using the resources that we have, but I think that service will only be strengthened by having folks in those positions located in New Brunswick. And so we're going to continue to move forward as quickly and expeditiously as we can to have those positions filled."
Asked why the positions are only being filled now, Nauss said they were previously posted under her predecessor, but there "wasn't a huge response" for the bilingual jobs.
She suspects the fact SIRT is new to the province may have been a factor.
The Serious Incident Response Team is an independent civilian-led agency that investigates incidents that stem from RCMP or municipal police actions, including death, serious injury, sexual assault, domestic violence and "other matters of significant public interest."
At the conclusion of every investigation, the director reviews the report, decides whether the officer or officers involved should face criminal charges, and issues a public summary, which outlines the reasons.
10 open investigations
SIRT has been "managing" with the New Brunswick demand since the oversight agreement was reached earlier this year, said Nauss.
Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 23, it has received 20 referrals from the province, she said.
Of those, five investigations have been completed, while 10 remain open. Nauss could not immediately provide any details.
The other five cases did not meet the SiRT mandate, she said.
"For New Brunswick, I think they can continue to have confidence in the administration of justice and how these incidents are investigated."
Department of Justice and Public Safety spokesperson Sarah Bustard said the delay in the office opening has not impacted SIRT from "receiving or reviewing New Brunswick cases for investigation."
She did not address what, if any, effect it's had on the start or completion of investigations.
The department expects the office to "formally open" in the new year, said Bustard.
$560K a year allocated
New Brunswick has budgeted about $560,000 a year to cover SIRT services, according to Bustard. This includes hiring investigators and administrative staff, as well as operational costs.
"If the costs are higher or lower, the budget can be adjusted in future years, and any unused budget remains with the Department of Justice and Public Safety," she said in an emailed statement.
The investigator positions pay between $3,561 and $4,452 biweekly, while the salary range for the assistant director is $6,277 to $6,779 biweekly.
Asked whether New Brunswick will have any input on who is hired, Nauss said she may seek representation from the province on the interview panel. "I haven't made that determination yet."
"Ultimately, it's the governor-in-council of Nova Scotia who makes the appointment," she said, adding they will be Nova Scotia employees.
Nauss declined to reveal how many people applied for the latest job postings, but did say she's "quite hopeful" the positions will be filled.
Necessary qualifications and experience
An investigator applicant must have a bachelor's degree, at least five years' investigative experience at a senior level in law enforcement, and supervisory, team-building and communication skills, said Nauss.
Applicants also need knowledge of the Criminal Code and other relevant statutes, experience in preparing and presenting cases for court, and expertise in the rules related to the collection and preservation of evidence.
Other qualities include "good judgment, integrity, objectivity, tact, and strong ethical values," said Nauss.
Luc
Côté, team commander of Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response Team,
has been handling any New Brunswick files that require a bilingual
response. Other Nova Scotia officers have been assisting as needed until
the Fredericton SIRT office is fully staffed, said Nauss. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
The assistant director, who will oversee and review investigations, must have a law degree, experience in criminal law, and have never been a police officer "to help ensure that impartiality, objectivity and independence," Nauss said.
They also need to "understand and exercise the proper use of discretion," have excellent conflict resolution skills and be able to provide leadership to investigative staff, she said.
The administrative position will involve general office administration and assisting investigators with disclosure.
Nova Scotia's director position has not yet been posted. Nauss said she hasn't decided whether she'll seek the permanent post, focusing for now on the "job at hand."
Nauss was a lawyer with Nova Scotia's Department of Justice for 17 years and has been involved with SIRT since its inception.
Nova Scotia government appoints new director of police watchdog agency
Nova Scotia has appointed a senior Crown prosecutor as the next director of the province’s police watchdog agency.
Alonzo Wright will become director of the Serious Incident Response Team, or SIRT, as of Jan. 9.
Wright is replacing retired Crown attorney John Scott, who was appointed interim director when Felix Cacchione, a former judge, retired in May.
Justice Minister Brad Johns described Wright as an accomplished prosecutor who has handled some of the province’s most demanding and complex cases.
Wright is a graduate of Dalhousie University’s Schulich law school and has also practised criminal law and worked for the federal Department of Justice.
SIRT provides civilian-led oversight of policing by investigating serious incidents involving police, independent of both government and police.
The agency investigates all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and domestic violence, or other matters of significant public interest that may have arisen from the actions of any municipal police or RCMP officer across the province.
Nova Scotia reached an agreement in principle with New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island in 2021 that allows SIRT to act as the police oversight body for those two provinces as well, with formal agreements expected to be completed next year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2022.
Serious Incident Response Team Director Appointed
The Province has appointed Alonzo Wright, KC (King’s counsel), as Director of the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT).
Mr. Wright, a senior Crown attorney with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service, replaces retired Crown attorney John Scott, who was appointed interim Director when Felix Cacchione retired last May.
The appointment takes effect January 9.
“Mr. Wright is highly regarded and has many years of experience as an accomplished Crown prosecutor, handling some of the province’s most demanding, high-profile and complex criminal cases,” said Brad Johns, Minister of Justice and Attorney General. “He is an excellent choice to lead this respected agency. I also want to thank John Scott for his service as interim Director and for his leadership during the time we worked to secure a new permanent director of SiRT.”
Mr. Wright is a graduate of Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law and has been a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers Society since 1995, serving on numerous committees. He has practised criminal law, serving as a prosecutor across the province. He has also worked for the federal Department of Justice and was a municipal Crown attorney with the Halifax Regional Municipality.
SiRT provides civilian-led oversight of policing by investigating serious incidents involving police, independent of both government and police. The agency investigates all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and domestic violence, or other matters of significant public interest that may have arisen from the actions of any municipal police or RCMP officer across the province.
Mr. Wright will oversee a team of four investigators and an administrative support person.
Quotes:
“It’s an honour to be appointed, and I look forward to this new challenge. I also look forward to serving the people of Nova Scotia and working with the team of SiRT, the community and police.”
– Alonzo Wright, Director, Serious Incident Response Team
Quick Facts:
- Mr. Wright has extensive experience as a community leader and volunteer, notably as a basketball coach with the Gottingen Street Community Y in Halifax for more than 20 years, and as a referee, including at this year’s Canada Summer Games in Ontario
- he has received a number of awards for his volunteerism, including the A. Gordon Archibald Award, which recognizes alumni for outstanding volunteer contributions to Dalhousie
- SiRT averages about 25 investigations per year; in 2020-21, it opened 44 files and conducted 24 investigations, which led to charges against four police officers
- Nova Scotia reached an agreement in principle with New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island in 2021 that will allow SiRT to act as the police oversight body for the two provinces
- the formal agreements are expected to be completed in early 2023
Additional Resources:
More information on SiRT is available at: https://sirt.novascotia.ca/
The SiRT is able to receive referrals from police, the Minister of Justice, and members of the public, in relation to matters that have occurred after April 20, 2012. If you have any questions about the SiRT or its work, or you believe a serious incident has occurred that may fit the SiRT's mandate, please contact the Team using the contact information below. If you are making a referral, you will be asked to give a summary of the incident in question outlining what occurred. In the end, it is up to the SiRT Director to determine if a matter fits the Team's mandate. The Director or one of the SiRT investigators may be in contact with you directly to obtain further information before making that decision.
https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2024/04/24/serious-incident-response-team-director-appointed
Serious Incident Response Team Director Appointed
Erin Nauss has been appointed the new Director of the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT).
The Province has appointed Erin Nauss as Director of the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT).
Ms. Nauss served as interim director of SiRT for the last seven months and was involved in its establishment under the Police Act in 2011. She has 18 years of legal experience and practised briefly in the private sector before joining the Nova Scotia Department of Justice as a solicitor in 2007. She has experience managing teams and has taken on various leadership roles throughout her career.
The five-year appointment takes effect immediately.
“The Serious Incident Response Team has an important mandate on behalf of Nova Scotians,” said Barbara Adams, Minister of Justice and Attorney General. “Ms. Nauss has done an exceptional job leading SiRT as interim director, and we’re pleased to appoint her as permanent Director.”
SiRT provides oversight of policing by independently investigating serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia and News Brunswick. It is civilian-led and its work is independent of both government and police.
Ms. Nauss will oversee a team of seven investigators, an assistant director and administrative staff located in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Quotes:
“It’s an honour to be appointed, and I look forward to continuing to work with the SiRT team, the community and police.”
— Erin Nauss, Director, Serious Incident Response Team
Quick Facts:
- SiRT averages about 30 investigations per year, based on the five-year average from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024
- in 2022-23, it opened 55 files and conducted 44 investigations, which led to charges against six police officers
- in 2023-24, it opened 53 files and conducted 39 investigations, which led to charges against seven police officers (as of February 23, 2024)
- In February 2023, SiRT expanded to New Brunswick with an office in Fredericton and plans are underway to expand SiRT services to Prince Edward Island
Additional Resources:
More information on SiRT is available at: https://sirt.novascotia.ca/
Why lawyers say alleged police wrongdoing in Assoun case can't be forgotten
British Columbia watchdog agency dropped case in April citing workload issues
For Sean MacDonald, the push to restart a criminal investigation into police destruction of evidence in the Glen Assoun
wrongful conviction case matters both for personal reasons and for the precedent it could set.
The defence lawyer, who teamed with Phil Campbell in the long battle to prove Assoun's innocence, said the ordeal took a huge health toll on the Nova Scotia man, whom he first met in 2006 as he languished in prison for the 1995 murder of Brenda Way.
"Glen suffered and continued to suffer up until the day that he died," MacDonald said in an interview Wednesday, referring to Assoun's death last June at the age of 67.
Assoun spent almost 17 years in jail and five years under strict bail conditions before being acquitted of the killing in 2019. Four months after his acquittal, the province's Supreme Court released the federal investigation of the case, which revealed that an RCMP constable's evidence — both electronic and paper files — pointing toward alternative suspects had been deleted or was missing.
But nearly four years later, a probe of the alleged evidence destruction remains stalled. The British Columbia watchdog agency that originally agreed to investigate dropped the case in April, citing workload issues, and Nova Scotia's justice minister said recently he has adopted a "wait-and-see" approach on what to do about the probe.
'A watershed moment'
MacDonald recalled that in the months before he died, Assoun was unhappy about the sudden halt to the probe and wanted his lawyer to battle on. MacDonald and other Canadian legal experts say the fight has broad implications.
"This has the potential to be a watershed moment because it will raise the bar for police conduct and create a dimension of accountability that, up to this point, to my knowledge has never existed," he said.
MacDonald, who also sits on the board of the legal advocacy group Innocence Canada, says of the 29 findings of wrongful convictions since 1993, Assoun's is the only one he's aware of in which a watchdog agency has been charged with looking into alleged police wrongdoing by both officers and their supervisors.
In 2020, Innocence Canada reviewed seven public inquiries going back to the 1989 royal commission on the prosecution of Donald Marshall Jr. in Nova Scotia. It found only one instance of an officer being prosecuted in a wrongful conviction case, but the case was dropped due to the officer's poor health.
Meanwhile, the issue of police accountability in wrongful convictions remains front and centre, including in the case of
Robert Mailman and Walter Gillespie. The two men were cleared this
month in a 1983 murder in Saint John, N.B., after serving lengthy prison
terms.
Innocence Canada has argued that police tunnel vision and the non-disclosure of important evidence, along with disregard for the men's strong alibis, occurred in the case.
Probe and public inquiry needed: lawyer
Lawyer Ian Scott, who directed Ontario's Special Investigations Unit — a police watchdog agency — from 2008 to 2013, said in an interview he believes both the criminal probe and an independent public inquiry is needed to prevent future destruction of evidence.
Scott said in a recent interview the Assoun case stands out because it involves allegations that a senior RCMP officer was aware of evidence and didn't disclose it to defence counsel.
"It should have been disclosed ...
It was not disclosed at the appeal and [the RCMP
investigator's] superiors were involved in the suppression of that
evidence," he said.
The revelations about the alternative
suspects evidence were released on July 12, 2019, after The Canadian
Press, CBC and the Halifax Examiner won a legal victory to have the
information unsealed.
The 82-page case assessment by Justice Department lawyer Mark Green laid out how a joint RCMP-Halifax police unit was alleged to have deleted files created by an RCMP constable who was using an analytical database, referred to as ViCLAS.
His analysis suggested that serial killer Michael McGray and Avery Greenough, who had committed sexual assaults, were potential suspects.
Files went missing
Green's report also said that file boxes of Const. Dave Moore's investigation notes had all gone missing while he was on vacation.
According to the federal report, Moore was "able to place McGray in the immediate area where Brenda Way worked and lived," by analyzing his welfare cheques. The constable also developed a theory that Greenough may have picked up Way in his vehicle on the night of the murder.
The report described how this wasn't disclosed to Assoun's defence by senior RCMP officers as the defence tried to overturn his conviction before the Court of Appeal in 2006.
The RCMP's response in 2019 was to point to an internal review about the destruction of Moore's computer analysis and state there was "no malicious intent," though there were policy breaches. The report argued a single "overzealous" junior officer was likely responsible for deleting Moore's analytical files.
Scott said this review remains insufficient.
"I don't think the public should accept that at face value," he said.
Team in discussions with police oversight agency
Anthony Moustacalis, former president of a national association of criminal lawyers, said in an interview Wednesday that if the criminal probe isn't revived, "the public loses confidence in the justice process."
Meanwhile, MacDonald said he believes records of emails on RCMP servers and interviews with former officers could yield results.
"There was information and documents that were contained inside of a highly secured office that somehow disappeared," he said.
Erin Nauss, the interim director of Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Review Team, said in an interview Tuesday that she is in discussions with a police oversight agency to take over the Assoun investigation, after contacting every oversight agency in the country.
"We'll continue those efforts and should that not be successful, then I am open to exploring other options and being as creative as I need to be to ensure this matter is looked at."
https://www.moosejawtoday.com/national-news/ns-premier-seeks-probe-of-possible-criminality-by-police-in-assoun-case-2721496
N.S. premier seeks probe of possible criminality by police in Assoun case
Stephen McNeil told reporters Thursday the attorney general will ask the Serious Incident Response Team to assess whether there was criminal misconduct by police during the period before the appeal of Glen Assoun's conviction.
Assoun, 64, also lived under strict parole conditions for almost five more years before a Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruling in March 2019 reversed his 1999 conviction for the murder of Brenda Way. Way was found with her throat slashed in a Dartmouth, N.S., parking lot in November 1995. The crime remains unsolved.
"I've asked the minister (of Justice) to refer this file to Serious Incident Response Team, the independent agency in this province," McNeil said following a cabinet meeting. "They will assess whether or not this is criminal in nature."
In July 2019, a federal Justice Department report revealed an RCMP unit that included Halifax police officers had destroyed a constable's database of information about other suspects in Way's murder, along with physical evidence the officer had gathered to back up his case.
The destruction of evidence occurred prior to Assoun's 2006 appeal hearing, which he lost.
Const. Dave Moore had tried repeatedly to tell his superiors his work was relevant, and yet it was never disclosed, according to the Justice Department's report. The Mounties have cited an internal review about the destruction of Moore's work, and have said there was "no malicious intent."
McNeil said if the watchdog determines such an inquiry is not in its mandate, then the province would "look at what are the other options for review of that process." The watchdog agency has a mandate that includes investigations of matters of "significant public interest" stemming from the actions of police officers.
Agency director Felix Cacchione said Thursday his office hasn't received a request to investigate the case, "so it's inappropriate to comment at this time."
Cacchione, a former judge in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, has said in an earlier interview with The Canadian Press that he felt the case falls outside his office's mandate, because the events occurred before SiRT was created.
Justice Minister Mark Furey told reporters his office is preparing a request for the police oversight agency.
"We've looked at what options we have available," Furey said Thursday. "One of the options is to engage SiRT on the specifics of this particular matter and determine if it's within their mandate."
Furey, a former RCMP officer, said if SiRT determines that the case falls in its mandate, "then we can have further discussion about appropriate resourcing."
"Right now, I'm waiting hear back through the department."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2020.
Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press
Former SIRT director: RCMP memo, meetings didn't sway decision on Onslow fire hall shooting
David Westlake, the
emergency management co-ordinator for Colchester County, runs inside the
Onslow Belmont Fire Hall after being shot at by two RCMP officers who
believed he was the mass shooter on April 19, 2020. - Mass Casualty
CommissionIn fact, it has only happened once during former SIRT director Felix Cacchione’s tenure: When his team investigated the shooting at the Onslow fire hall on April 19, 2020.
During SIRT’s investigation, retired Vancouver police officer Joel Johnston prepared a use-of-force report on the Onslow firehall shooting and presented it to the independent watchdog in December 2020.
Then in January 2021, SIRT received a memorandum by Sgt. Bobbie Haynes about Johnston’s report.
In the memo, Haynes, team commander of the RCMP’s Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Team (HOIT), analyzed and criticized the report that was before SIRT after he had received a copy.
In an interview transcript recently released by the Mass Casualty Commission, Cacchione said he doesn’t recall how the memo came to his attention, but noted it was odd.
“During your tenure, was it your practice, normal practice to get memos like this from HOIT or any other branch of the RCMP during an investigation?” asked lawyer Mark Underhill, one of three people to conduct the interview with Cacchione on Sept. 9, 2022.
“No,” Cacchione responded.
Cacchione agreed the move was out of the ordinary, adding he “never received something like that before or after.”
Related stories
But Cacchione also didn’t know how Haynes had a copy of Johnston’s report in the first place.
Cacchione said permanent investigators with SIRT, as well as the seconded officers, swear an oath not to disclose any information they have obtained during an investigation.
However, Cacchione said he wasn’t concerned when he received the memo from Haynes.
“My recollection was that they were looking at the officers, as I said before, occupational health and safety aspect,” Cacchione said. “I did not take this as any attempt to influence my decision in that file — the Onslow fire hall.”
A few days after Cacchione received Haynes’ memo, he met with Chief Supt. John Robin, as well as Haynes and other members of the RCMP — just under a month before SIRT’s investigation concluded.
A marble monument at the Onslow Belmont Fire Hall shows the
impact of an RCMP bullet after two officers opened fire when they
thought they had spotted the Portapique shooter on April 19, 2020. -
Harry Sullivan / File
According to Robin’s notes, Haynes again raised inconsistencies and omissions with Johnston’s report during the meeting.
“The last entry says, ‘Felix says, ‘Cst. (Dave) Gagnon will in no way be blamed for anything.’ And then in brackets, ‘(although he hasn’t completed report)’, and then it just ends with, ‘recognizes,’” Underhill pointed out to Cacchione.
Cacchione said while he doesn’t remember what he said about the officer who was present at the fire hall when the other two officers opened fire, but “if it’s in the notes, I probably said that.”
But Cacchione said neither Haynes’ memo nor the meeting with members of the RCMP swayed his decision when finalizing his report in February 2021.
“By that time, by January 21st, I had reviewed all of the materials and I was in the process of writing my report. But I had concluded, based on everything that I had considered … that Gagnon did not commit a criminal offence,” Cacchione said.
Ultimately, SIRT concluded the two RCMP officers who fired their firearms at the emergency management co-ordinator for Colchester County at the Onslow fire hall because they believed he was the mass shooter would not face charges.
But even after the meeting, Cacchione continued to meet with members of the RCMP regarding SIRT’s decision.
In March 2021, Cacchione met with Robin, Chief Supt. Chris Leather, Supt. Darren Campbell and other RCMP members at Todd Brown’s request.
Brown, director of public safety and field communications with Nova Scotia’s Department of Internal Services, had wanted to address a few concerns relating to the conclusions Cacchione had drawn on the TMR 2 system in his report.
“We were a little surprised that SIRT did not contact us for information related to this investigation,” Brown said in an email.
“Our office has multiple IT tools that allows us to do our own forensic analysis of network performance. No other organization – other than Bell Mobility – would have access to these tools, including the RCMP.”
Cacchione claimed the meeting was to educate him on the TMR 2 system, but Underhill questioned why RCMP members needed to be present at the meeting if that was its purpose.
“I don’t know,” Cacchione responded. “It was at (RCMP’s) H Division Headquarters and that’s where I went. As I said, I don’t recall them having any … making any comments during that meeting.”
Cacchione said nothing came of the meeting as it was after his report was released.
Cacchione, who retired last May, wanted to make it clear that he doesn’t believe the RCMP’s actions were an attempt to interfere with SIRT’s investigation.
“And it certainly if, if I had any inkling that anyone in the RCMP was attempting in any fashion to direct me as to how I should make a decision, I would have screamed loud and clear, and it would have been made to the public,” he said.
Felix Cacchione set to retire as head of police watchdog
Search for replacement underway
The search has begun
for a new head of the Serious Incident Response Team, the Nova Scotia
police watchdog which also investigates allegations of police wrongdoing
in New Brunswick and P.E.I.
The current director, former Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice Felix Cacchione, will retire at the end of May.
Cacchione has been in charge of SIRT for four years. That's after an 11-year career as a defence lawyer and 32 years as a judge.
Coming from a legal defence background, he said was struck by the ethical code of his team, made up of both current and former police officers.
"I think
what impressed me the most was the professionalism, the dedication, and
the objectivity and impartiality of the investigators," he said.
In the online retirement announcement, Nova Scotia Attorney General and
Justice Minister Brad Johns thanked Cacchione for his service.
"The knowledge and skills he brought to his position cemented the [SIRT's] reputation as a highly regarded civilian-led police oversight body," Johns said.
The province says SIRT currently conducts roughly 25 investigations a year.
In 2021, SIRT signed an agreement allowing it to perform investigations in all three Maritime provinces. Previously, SIRT investigated allegations involving police as requested by the New Brunswick and P.E.I. governments.
Cacchione says he'll play no role in choosing his successor, but hopes his replacement will be fluent in both English and French, given New Brunswick's bilingual status.
"It's important that the person listening to or reviewing an audio statement understand the meaning of the words, not the literal, but the nuances, their turns of phrases...that may mean something very different from a literal translation," he said.
Nova Scotia police watchdog expanding to New Brunswick
New agreement formalizes arrangement involving Serious Incident Response Team
Nova Scotia's police watchdog, the Serious Incident Response Team, will investigate cases involving officers in New Brunswick under a new agreement in principle between the two provincial governments announced Monday.
New Brunswick has for years has relied on agencies outside its borders to come in and investigate when there's a serious incident involving police. SIRT has conducted some of those investigations, but the new agreement will formalize the arrangement.
The team's mandate is to investigate serious incidents that stem from police actions, including death, serious injury, sexual assault, domestic violence and "other matters of significant public interest." It is independent, and in Nova Scotia can lay charges against police officers.
SIRT director Felix Cacchione said plenty of logistics will have to be worked out between now and when the agreement takes effect next year. He said the team will require three or four more investigators, which is double the current number.
"We did not have the manpower to cover two recent incidents in New Brunswick and had to refer them to other outside agencies," Cacchione said.
Chantel Moore, 26, and Rodney Levi, 48, were shot and killed by police in New Brunswick eight days apart. (CBC)
Those cases are the deaths of Chantal Moore and Rodney Levi, who were both shot by police within days of one another in June 2020.
Cacchione said the Quebec watchdog agency that eventually took on the Moore case was able to send eight investigators and its own forensic team.
Cacchione said he would prefer to have at least some of the new investigators based in New Brunswick, citing the long response times when investigators are dispatched from Halifax.
He said for cases in the Edmundston or Campbellton areas in northern New Brunswick, it would take investigators a minimum of eight hours just to get there from Halifax. He noted SIRT investigated one case along the side of the Trans-Canada Highway.
"That scene has to be maintained until the arrival of the SIRT investigators, the arrival of the forensic identification team and that posed a problem," he said. "The Trans-Canada has to be shut down."
Cacchione said the new arrangement will also require legislative changes. He said SIRT investigators are not currently recognized as peace officers in New Brunswick and have to get special clearance from the province's Justice Department every time they go there.
He said the New Brunswick process is also different because the provincial Public Prosecution Service must lay any charges, whereas he has the power in Nova Scotia to lay charges without Crown approval. He said he'd like to see changes to the New Brunswick system so that SIRT would operate under the same rules in both provinces.
Former Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge brings expertise, ‘gravitas’ to police watchdog
The waiting area of the Serious Incident Response Team, the
province’s independent police watchdog agency, is seen in Halifax on
Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan Most Canadian jurisdictions choose former prosecutors to watch the police, said Roach, a prominent University of Toronto law professor.
But Cacchione, the grandson of Italian immigrants to Montreal, is a veteran superior court judge and criminal lawyer – he retired from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court just weeks before being named director of the province’s Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT).
“The appointment of a former supreme court justice and former legal aid lawyer is exceptional,” said Roach in a recent interview.
The leaders of Canada’s special investigatory units have tended to focus on their main mandate: deciding if officers have broken the law and recommending prosecutions in serious incidents involving the police, ranging from shootings to sexual assault.
But Roach says there’s also a role for directors to refer cases that may not meet that bar to police complaints commissions, and to describe changes in policing that might avoid future incidents.
Roach – who has researched the special units in Ontario – says Cacchione could bring a “gravitas” that lends weight to anything he says on the underlying problems in policing, along with his recommendations on criminal prosecutions.
But Cacchione, 68, displays a judge’s prudence when asked if he will wade into wider policy issues when he handles investigations or in his annual reports.
“Depending on the situation, it may not be off limits,” he said during an interview Wednesday.
After growing up in Montreal’s east end, Cacchione studied at Dalhousie University’s law school in Halifax. He says he went into law and legal aid in part because he recalled his own parents lacking the money to afford legal help in a civil case.
Cacchione has had over 31 years of experience reviewing police investigations – including some that impressed him and others that left him shaking his head over their inadequacies.
The director says he’ll now turn his attention to becoming the overseer of the team’s inquiries, adopting a European-style “inquisitorial system” as he works with the office’s investigators and poses questions to them about each case.
He said any preconceptions he had that his staff or seconded officers might be biased towards police officers have been rapidly blown apart in his first days on the job.
“I’ve found these officers … don’t like anything that would smell of a dirty cop,” he said.
Cacchione said at this point, he’s focused on the basics rather than vision statements.
He’s already occupied with a high-profile case alleging a Halifax police officer assaulted a homeless man outside a shelter on Feb. 25. Ten days ago, two more cases came in, one from St. John’s, N.L., and a second in Nova Scotia, alleging sexual assault by an RCMP officer, swiftly exhausting the resources of his four-person unit.
“You’re busy with all of this, rather than thinking about where we’re going to be five years from now,” he said.
Amidst the sudden deluge of work, Cacchione is also dampening any expectations of a revamped or expanded organization.
“My hope is to continue doing the kind of work that my predecessor did, which was to provide independent, thorough investigations of complaints against police agencies or officers,” he said.
Meanwhile, John Sewell, a former mayor of Toronto and author of a book that examines policing oversight, is among those who argue agencies like SIRT need the budget and clear legislated mandate to also assess the “reasonableness” of police actions, and to make recommendations for change when that’s not the case.
“The Serious Incident Response Team (in Nova Scotia) looks like it will only deal with physical injuries. … It probably will be no more effective than the Special Investigations Unit in Ontario – that is, not very effective at all as a review mechanism,” Sewell wrote in an email.
While Nova Scotia’s Police Act allows Cacchione to refer matters to police complaints commissions, it doesn’t state – as Ontario’s yet-to-be proclaimed new legislation explicitly does – that his referral must be made public.
Ian Scott, the former director of the Ontario Special Investigations Unit, said in an interview that during his tenure from 2008 to 2011 he handled incidents that didn’t meet the bar of a criminal prosecution but which called for a disciplinary review that was open to the public.
He said SIRT directors may not always have the material they need to comment on policing policy because the officer involved isn’t compelled to turn over their notes or testify – something which they might be compelled to do in a non-criminal proceeding.
“It’s a bit of a tricky situation sometimes,” he said.
Cacchione makes the case that problems in police conduct can also be dealt with in fairly subtle ways.
“We often will have situations where it doesn’t meet the bar in terms of laying of a criminal charge but the material is sent to the police department for their internal investigation and disciplinary matters,” he said.
“Simply referring those things to their standards committee is saying something.”
Archie Kaiser, a law professor at Dalhousie and long-time friend of Cacchione’s, said in an email “having someone with judicial experience should boost public confidence.”
“The combination of the exactitude and restraint of a former judge and the investigative experience of the staff should be very auspicious in terms of ensuring high standards of policing and respect for the law,” he wrote.
Prior to Cacchione taking on the job, there had been discussions among the Atlantic provinces around the creation of a single regional police watchdog agency under the leadership of the Halifax office.
Cacchione says he’s open to proposals from other provinces, but raises some cautions.
“I understand how often the best intentions of government don’t get carried through,” he said.
“We’ve been talking about it since 2012. Here we are six years later and we haven’t really moved forward.”
Newfoundland and Labrador recently set aside $250,000 in its current budget, and $500,000 annually in following years, for the creation of an independent police oversight agency. However, in an interview, Justice Minister Andrew Parsons said no decisions have been taken yet on whether his province will create its own team or link to the Nova Scotia agency.
A spokesman for New Brunswick’s Justice Department sent an email saying his province remains interested in a unified agency, but refers to the topic as being in “preliminary discussions.”
Nova Scotia police watchdog, SiRT, names former federal justice as new director
Nova Scotia has appointed a former federal judge as director of the province’s Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT).
Felix Cacchione, who recently retired from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court after 32 years on the bench, will replace interim director John Scott.
Cacchione takes over the role on March 12.
“Mr. Cacchione is highly respected and brings over 40 years of knowledge, experience and skill to the position,” said Mark Furey, the attorney general and justice minister, in a news release.
Cacchione studied law at Dalhousie University in Halifax and has practised criminal law throughout his career. He was appointed a Nova Scotia county court judge in 1986 and a Supreme Court judge in 1993 when the courts merged“Nova Scotians are fortunate to have his calibre of expertise in the role. Under Mr. Cacchione’s direction, SiRT will continue to perform investigations to the highest quality.”.
SiRt, which began in 2012, investigates matters involving death, serious injury, sexual assault, domestic violence and matters of significant public interest that involve police in the province.
Cacchione will oversee a team of four investigators, which is made up of two civilians and two police officers.
The first head of Nova Scotia’s police watchdog signs off
Ron MacDonald, the first and, so far, only director of Nova Scotia’s police watchdog says he’s proud of the team that he’s built and is confident that it can continue to do its important work without him.
MacDonald, who is set to retire Oct. 23, 2017 says that the Special Incident Response Team (SiRT), the team that independently investigates all serious incidents which arise from the actions of police in Nova Scotia, has become an important piece of the justice system in the province during the first six years of its existence.
“Every organization needs to grow and change and improve, and we’ve been doing that and I know it will continue,” said MacDonald. “If I’ve done nothing else well, I’ve hired great people to work in SiRT as investigators and they’ll continue to do that work and that will hold SiRT in really good stead.”
Formed around a core team of six people; MacDonald, four investigators and a full-time assistant, SiRT has remained small and tight-knit.
https://globalnews.ca/news/3746609/head-of-nova-scotia-serious-incident-response-team-leaving-position/
Head of Nova Scotia Serious Incident Response Team leaving position
Posted September 15, 2017 10:28 am
Ron MacDonald has announced he is retiring as head of the province's Serious Incident Response Team.
File The head of the the Nova Scotia Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) is moving on.
Ron MacDonald is the first and only director of SiRT, which independently investigates all serious incidents which arise from the actions of police in Nova Scotia.
READ: N.S. police watchdog won’t press charges over alleged deletion of video
The Department of Justice says MacDonald “developed the independent investigations office from a concept to a highly-effective civilian oversight body.”
MacDonald will retire in October after 26 years in the civil service. He has accepted a new position as chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office in British Columbia.
“I thank Ron for his years of service and outstanding leadership at SiRT,” said Justice Minister Mark Furey in a news release.
“Our loss is B.C.’s gain. Because of Ron’s good work, Nova Scotia has an innovative model that is unique to Atlantic Canada and is respected across the country.”
Since it began in 2012, SiRT has investigated more than 120 cases.
WATCH: SIRT investigation in Bridgewater Police chief still not complete.
The Department of Justice says the process to hire MacDonald’s replacement will begin immediately.