Pubdate: Thu, 19 Feb 2015
Source: Vancouver 24hours (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Vancouver 24 hrs.
Contact: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/letters
Website: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3837
Author: Michael Mui
Page: 3

TEN DRUG INVESTIGATIONS FROZEN DUE TO MISCONDUCT PROBE

Seventeen members of the Abbotsford Police Department are under
investigation on 148 allegations of misconduct under the Police Act
after a member of the force was arrested and charged in 2013 on
allegations of falsifying information when filing search warrants in
drug cases. Abbotsford Const. Christopher Nicholson was charged in May
2013 with 10 criminal counts, including breach of trust, obstruction
of justice and conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance.

As a result of the investigation, an external police department was
called in and, according to the Office of the Police Complaint
Commissioner, further allegations against Const. Nicholson as well as
16 other members of the APD (Abbotsford Police Department)."

The OPCC said the misconduct being investigated included "allegations
of corrupt practice, deceit and neglect of duty."

Deputy police complaint commissioner Rollie Woods said Nicholson faces
the bulk of the allegations- about 50- with the rest divided among the
other officers, some of whom were described by Woods as "being more
senior folks" in the department.

As a result of the probe, about 10 active investigations that involved
the accused officers have been frozen, Abbotsford police said.

"I don't know if any mistrials have been declared or charges dropped,
but what we're doing is we're having New West minster police
conducting investigation to look at any cases where they might have
had an unsafe prosecution," he said.

"It's one of the concerns the commissioner had."

Neil MacKenzie, spokes man for the Crown, said the charges have been
updated to six counts of obstructing justice, three counts of breach
of trust, and a count of improper firearm storage.

Bob Rich, Abbotsford police chief, said he stands by his police
members.

"A member who doesn't put into an 'information to obtain' (document)
that the suspect had a conviction for a certain matter because that
member may or may not have believed or realized that the condition
existed ... that is an allegation of deceit," Rich said.

"The police complaint commissioner has a view that the member did
something deceitful - we disagree at that point."

The accused officers have been taken off drug investigation work in
the meantime, but are still on the job.
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