Officer’s case may affect gun trial
Perjury allegations against sergeant weighed by lawyers
Perjury allegations against a senior Calgary police officer could impact the weapons-related trial of purported gang leader and murder suspect Nicholas Chan.
Chan’s continued retrial on five charges relating to the March 3, 2010, discovery of a loaded .32 calibre handgun under the driver’s seat of his car, has been delayed until March so defence lawyer Michael Bates can review information on charges against Sgt. Les Kaminski.
Crown prosecutor Bob Sigurdson agreed to the delay so he can get disclosure from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team on the investigation into Kaminski’s charges.
Kaminski, who was recently elected president of the Calgary Police Association, the union which represents officers, faces charges of assault and perjury in connection with the 2008 arrest of a Hells Angels member and that man’s subsequent trial.
Jason Arkinstall was acquitted in January 2011 in connection with an Aug. 31, 2008, traffic stop involving Kaminski.
In finding Arkinstall not guilty of obstructing police, assaulting a police officer and uttering threats, provincial court Judge Terry Semenuk said Kaminski provided evidence in court that was “unreliable and not credible.”
Following Arkinstall’s acquittal, the Calgary Criminal Defence Lawyers Association called on ASIRT to look into allegations the officers involved, including Kaminski, used excessive force during the arrest and lied about it in court.
Kaminski was also involved in the traffic stop which led to Chan being charged.
Bates asked for an adjournment in his trial so he can review the disclosure on the Kaminski investigation and determine if he has further questions for the officer.
He and Sigurdson were supposed to have provided written arguments to Justice Scott Brooker on the legality of the search of Chan’s vehicle, but because of the Kaminski issue, those submissions were delayed.
Brooker was supposed to rule Thursday on the search but will wait until Bates decides his next step before receiving arguments and making a ruling.
Chan was originally acquitted in 2011 when Justice James Langston found the search was unlawful.
But the Alberta Court of Appeal overturned that decision and ordered a new trial.
Langston had ruled the basis for police scouring Chan’s car on March 3, 2010, wasn’t as a result of his refusal to provide officers with his name when he was pulled over at a traffic stop.
Instead, Langston ruled the officers’ motive for conducting the search was their suspicion Chan was armed and may be driving an armoured vehicle owned by a business linked to his brother.
As a result, he said, the discovery of a loaded, .32-calibre, semi-automatic handgun under the driver’s seat was from an unconstitutional search and seizure.
Chan is set to go to trial in the fall in connection with the August 2008 murder of non-gang member Kevin Anaya and conspiracy to murder a rival gang member. His weapons trial resumes next month.