A Brantford police officer was found not guilty on Wednesday of advising a fellow officer to lie about a case in which they were involved.
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But, said Justice Deborah Calderwood, she wasn’t “wholly convinced” about Officer Kassandra Harrison’s innocence.
“My conclusion is that I’m left with a reasonable doubt,” said the judge about a text sent by Harrison that began with “If you want to lie …”
“But just because I’m left with a reasonable doubt, doesn’t mean I’m entirely convinced. I’m not.”
The judge used Harrison’s trial to urge all police officers to own their mistakes in “honesty and integrity”.
“Officers who lie, or suggest lying, diminish the profession as a whole. This type of conduct is dangerous and is never acceptable,” Calderwood said.
The judge acknowledged the difficult job done by police, saying they are required to make on-the-spot decisions, often without a chance to consult others or do research.
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“Their actions are ballotized to an extreme degree… it imposes enormous pressure on them to get it right, every time, all the time.”
Because it’s only reasonable to expect that officers will err at times, Calderwood said police services should teach new hires what to do when they make a mistake so they don’t feel the need to hide it from their supervisors.
“Creating an environment where an officer can approach a supervisor and confess is critical. It’s in the best interests of the police services and the administration of justice as a whole.”
Harrison, 30, was charged by Brantford Police months after a 2022 incident where she and another relatively new officer responded to a collision they believed was caused by impaired driving.
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The crash at a T-intersection at Phelps Road and Mt. Pleasant Road resulted in the other officer driving an accused driver to hospital due to a lack of available ambulances.
When the younger officer later was challenged by a supervisor about why he hadn’t promptly read the accused driver his rights, he consulted with Harrison about how to “make it go away.”
The two texted on their personal phones with details about the arrest and Harrison typed the critical message: “If you want to lie, you can say you arrived at the hospital … you asked if he wanted a lawyer and he said ‘yes, but if I’m not being held, I’ll call on my own time’?”
She was suspended from duty after a month and charged after another five months with obstruction of justice, although the Brantford Police didn’t publicize that fact for 18 months.
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During a short trial, Harrison and her defense lawyer argued the text conversation was unofficial and full of abbreviations, implied laughter, shrugs and ‘lols’.
Lawyer Joanne Mulcahy said Harrison mockingly was asking her colleague a question rather than suggesting he lie.
Mulcahy also noted Harrison had told the officer “You could just own it” as a way of telling him to be forthright about the error.
Calderwood – who handed down her ruling in St. Catharines – said nuances throughout the text conversation showed that Harrison could have been being sarcastic and creepy in her casual conversation.
“While I find the critical text message appears to support a clear intention to counsel (the officer) to lie, the entire testimony leaves me with doubt that was her intention at the time.”
A relieved Harrison was embraced outside the courtroom by her husband, who is an officer for a neighboring police service.
@EXPSGamble
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