McHale brings allegations against two more OPP officers

Source: The Spec
March 16, 2010
Daniel Nolan
Hamilton Spectator
CAYUGA — Activist Gary McHale has brought criminal allegations against two senior Ontario Provincial Police officers whom he claims obstructed justice.


McHale says Justice of the Peace Lillian Ross laid the charge after he appeared before her this morning in Cayuga court.


He argued using e-mails he received from the Crown in disclosure that Deputy Commissioner Chris Lewis and Superintendent Ron Gentle instructed officers to arrest him in connection with a protest surrounding a Highway 6 smoke shop on Dec. 1, 2007, even though they acknowledged there was no evidence a crime had been committed.


He cited one e-mail from Gentle where the superintendent said “We want to ensure” when the OPP arrest and charge a native protester in connection with the incident “we do the same with McHale to eliminate any of the usual issues.”

Natives and non-natives clashed during the protest and a number of people were arrested.


McHale said Crown attorney David King argued the e-mails did not only say to charge McHale, but also when to charge him.

McHale has led a number of rallies to protest what he calls two-tier justice in the policing of the Douglas Creek Estates land claims dispute. He will be speaking at a rally this Sunday in Caledonia.


McHale had previously succeeded in bringing a private charge against OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino for attempting to influence municipal officials to not attend his rallies, but the charge was dropped by the Crown in February after it took over the case.

McHale’s appeal on that move is in court May 13.


A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General would not comment because documents had not yet been filed with the courts, but said the ministry was aware McHale’s private prosecution was in court.

It can take a day or two before the documents make their way through the system and then are referred to the police service where the accused resides for the serving of a summons.

Spokespeople for the OPP could not be reached for comment.


McHale said Ross issued a summons for the two officers to appear in Cayuga court April 28.


McHale was charged with counselling to commit mischief for alleging telling a protester to block a street with his truck.

dnolan@thespec.com 905-526-3351

Demoted police officers return to active duty

Source:IFPRESS
Demoted police officers return to active duty
SARNIA: OPP costing question bigger concern for morale

By SHAWN JEFFORDS, QMI Agency

SARNIA -- The demotion of two Sarnia police officers will have little effect on morale, the chief of police says.

Phil Nelson said the service is turning the page on the "unsavory" incident now that the officers involved have been disciplined.

Constables Patrick Nahmabin and Steven Wyville pled guilty last week to disreputable conduct under the Police Service Act in relation to on Sept. 18, 2008 incident. The pair were arrested after breaking into a Christina Street home in search of Nahmabin's stolen badge.

"It's one thing out of the way we had to deal with," Nelson said. "As unfortunate or as unsavory as it may be, these are situations that have to be dealt with."

The officers are back on active duty but will undergo refresher training before re-joining the service in coming weeks.

Nelson said the ongoing OPP police costing question is a much larger concern for officer morale. The city is awaiting a report detailing how much it would cost for provincial police to replace the municipal force. The document will be released to a local police costing committee on March 29.

"That OPP report is impacting on people here more than anything else," Nelson said. "We're still waiting."

Mayor Mike Bradley, chairperson of the Sarnia Police Services Board, said the RCMP, OPP and municipal services across the country also deal with discipline issues on a regular basis.

Bradley said officers and civilian staff he's spoken to feel that seeking the OPP costing estimate is a slight against their work. Bradley said the costing is not just about dollars and cents, but should be about the work done by Sarnia police.

Sarnia Observer

Halton Officer Charged

Source:Peterborough Examiner

BURLINGTON -- An off-duty Halton Regional Police officer in Burlington is facing domestic violence charges.

An investigation into the officer and her former common-law husband of two years has led to Const. Melanie Fedun being charged with sexual assault, forcible confinement and three counts of assault. She'll be in a Milton court on April 23.


Fedun has been with the force for eight years. She is now suspended with pay.

Prelim set for officer

Source: THE DAILY PRESS


Two weeks have been set aside for a preliminary hearing for a South Porcupine Ontario Provincial Police officer facing several charges including attempted murder.

The dates were set aside in the Ontario Court of Justice in Timmins yesterday.

A full week in mid June and a second full week in mid July have been set aside for the preliminary hearing.


The charges laid against, Cecile Fournel, 53, stem from a residential fire in Timmins in February 2009.

She is charged with attempted murder, arson and administering a noxious substance.

The 10-year member of the OPP is currently suspended from duty.

The charges were laid in connection with alleged incidents which occurred which the officer was off duty.

Police mourn slain constable

=======Provincial Constable Vu PHAM=======


Source: The Spec
Shooting started when police pulled over vehicle on rural road

March 09, 2010
The Canadian Press
WINTHROP, Ont. (Mar 9, 2010)
A provincial police officer was shot and killed yesterday when pulling over a vehicle in rural southwestern Ontario, an incident witnesses said set off a close-range gunfight between the suspect and officers.

Constable Vu Pham, 37, was shot and "immediately incapacitated" after taking the "initiative to intercept" the suspect shortly after 10 a.m., said OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino.

"It is with a sense of loss and deep regret that I'm informing ... that we lost officer Pham. He succumbed to his injuries a short while ago at hospital," said Fantino late yesterday afternoon.

"We are rallying around the family to make arrangements to truly express our appreciation to one of our heroes."

The officer was confronted by an armed suspect when he tried to stop the vehicle near Winthrop, Ont., about an hour north of London, said Fantino at a news conference earlier in the day.

"Officers in close proximity to the scene located the suspect. The suspect was also shot in the incident," he said.

The suspect, who was in hospital, is believed to be in his 70s and charges are pending, said Fantino, adding no other officers were injured in the incident.

Reports said Pham, who was rushed by air ambulance to London Health Sciences Centre, suffered a head injury.

A 15-year veteran of the force, Pham was a married father of three. His wife, Heather, and their sons Tyler, 12, Jordan, 10, and Joshua, 7, were with him when he died.

"(It's) just a very sad time for all of us. And our deep condolences go out to the family, Heather and the children especially," Fantino said.

It's up to the family whether Pham will have a full police funeral, police said.

When asked about the condition of the suspect, police referred calls to the province's Special Invest- igations Unit, which is probing the shooting.

Under the Criminal Code, the murder of a police officer is considered first-degree murder regardless of whether it was planned or deliberate. First-degree murder carries a life sentence upon conviction with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Eyewitnesses said 15 to 20 shots were exchanged between an officer and the suspect from across a two-lane rural road.

"The guy (was) laying in the ditch and the police officer was on the other side of the road in the ditch but he was standing up and they were both shooting back and forth at each other," Faith Weber, of nearby Brussels, told radio station CKNX.

"When I was there there was probably about five, six shots that already went off, and then we had to move back farther and then there was more shots going off."

Weber said more police arrived and the gunfire ended.

"After the shooting was done there was six, seven cops over where the guy was laying in the ditch, and he wasn't moving. I didn't see him moving at all after that."

Pham is the 104th OPP officer killed in the line of duty since the force's inception 100 years ago. Twenty four, including Pham, were fatally shot and one was fatally stabbed.

Born in Saigon, Vietnam, Pham joined the force in 1995 and has worked in the Cochrane and Parry Sound detachments. He was posted to the Huron County detachment.

Police had shut down the two-lane highway yesterday where the shooting took place, an area of farm fields sparsely dotted with homes.

Fantino noted police were preparing to gather today for the funeral of Peel Region police Constable Artem (James) Ochakovsky in Mississauga.

Ochakovsky died of his injuries in a Toronto hospital last Tuesday after his marked cruiser ended up wrapped around a light standard following a collision with another vehicle.

He was the first Peel Regional Police officer to die on duty in 25 years.

Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday's shooting was an "opportunity for all of us just to reflect on how much we count on these men and women every single day to go out there and put it on the line."

Special Investigations Unit spokeswoman Monica Hudon said OPP officers "became involved in a standoff with a man at 82352 North Line in Huron County."

"The man was wounded and has been taken to the Victoria Hospital in London for treatment. Six investigators and three forensic investigators are investigating this incident."

Police officer charged with sexual assault

Source:Whig Standard
A Brockville Police officer will appear in court March 19 to answer multiple charges in connection with a March 4 assault.

The officer, whose name cannot be identified by court order, was released on bail after a court hearing yesterday.

He was arrested March 4 by area OPP and charged with three counts of assault, sexual assault, forcible confinement, two counts of uttering threats and three counts of breach of undertaking.


Brockville Police Chief Adrian Geraghty told The Recorder and Times the officer has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the trial.

Geraghty said city police issued a press release one day after the arrest to provide the public with information. However, the suspect's name is not being released to protect the victim's identity, he said.

"We're not trying to hide anything. That's why we released the incident," said Geraghty.

He said any detail could tend to identify the victim in a small police service.

Geraghty said the arrest has had an impact on staff and police officers.

"It affects everybody in the service but we'll have to wait for it to come out in court."

Brockville Police Services Board chairman King Yee Jr. said he knows little about the incident beyond the media reports.

"Obviously when something comes out like this it's not something we like to see," Yee said during a telephone interview.

Yee said counselling is available through the police service contract for officers in need.

Article ID# 2482338

Bryant case put over until April 14

Michael Bryant has yet to step inside a courtroom and no one should be surprised.

The criminal case against former Ontario attorney-general Michael Bryant, charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving, has been put over to April 14.

Brockville police officer charged

Source:The Recorder
City police have charged one of their own with several criminal offences.

In a briefly worded media release Friday afternoon, Brockville police said an officer was "arrested and charged with several Criminal Code offences" Thursday.

Police said they were not releasing the officer's name "to protect the victim's privacy."


They also did not indicate the nature of the criminal offences the officer is now facing.

"Brockville police will not disclose any further information on this case, in light of the fact that this matter is before the courts," the statement read.

Veteran Toronto Police Officer Charged

Source:Toronto/AM640
3/5/2010

A Toronto police officer, with 35 years of service, has been charged after two security guards had a gun pointed at them. Police say an off-duty officer pulled up to a security gate of a private residence early Monday morning in his own vehicle. While he was being questioned by a couple of private security guards, it’s alleged the officer took out his police issued firearm, and pointed it in their direction. He then drove away. 58 year old Constable William Hamilton has been charged with careless use of a firearm, pointing a firearm and weapons dangerous.

=====================

Was this officer still suspended or was he off duty?

=====================


Dec 27 2006
Linda Nguyen
Staff Reporter

Source: Toronto Star

A Toronto police officer has been charged with uttering a death threat.

The allegations stem from a telephone conversation that took place while the constable was on duty on Dec. 23, Const. Victor Kwong said.

The officer worked at 41 Division at Eglinton Ave. E. and Birchmount Rd. and has been with the police force for 31 years.

He has since been suspended from his job.

Const. William Hamilton, 55, faces one count of threatening death.

Cop charged with criminal harassment

Source:The Spec
Charged after complaining against former partner

March 05, 2010
Paul Morse
An off-duty Hamilton police officer spent the night in jail after he was charged with criminal harassment.

In a brief news release, police say investigators had launched a probe into criminal harassment allegations the 29-year veteran officer had made against his former partner.

Instead, police arrested the officer and charged him with criminal harassment. They have not released his name because it may identify the victim.

The officer will appear for a bail hearing this morning.