Convictions of police upheld at appeal court
Officers guilty of stalking for cash
Alberta’s top court has upheld the convictions of two Calgary police officers for their roles in the stalking of a former city woman on behalf of her millionaire ex-boyfriend.
In separate unanimous decisions released Thursday, a three-member Alberta Court of Appeal panel rejected appeals by Brad Mcnish and Bryan Morton.
Both officers had appealed their convictions in relation to a months-long stalking case in which current and former Calgary Police Service members were paid to conduct surveillance on the former girlfriend of Calgary businessman Ken Carter.
Carter paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to have Akele Taylor tailed in a surveillance effort co-ordinated by unlicensed private detective Steve Walton, a former member of the service.
Morton’s appeal by lawyers Alias Sanders and Yoav Niv focused on whistleblower Tony Braile, who took part in the harassment campaign before deciding it was improper.
Sanders noted information provided by Braile, first to Taylor and her lawyer, Clive Llewellyn, and then to police was used in an application for a production order against other officers.
She argued details about Braile’s alleged involvement in a vehicle fraud investigation of members of organized crime, as well as an allegation Braile was providing information about search warrants to individuals involved in organized crime, weren’t provided to the defence.
But Crown prosecutor Matthew Griener said the allegations against Braile were never substantiated and were suspect.
“It’s not uncommon to find spurious information in police files,” he said, during arguments before the appeal judges in May.
As for Mcnish, defence counsel Andrea Serink suggested his decision to check the police databank and provide information to Walton was more of a regulatory breach than a crime.
Mcnish was convicted of breach of trust and unauthorized use of a police computer database, while Morton was found guilty of those charges as well as criminal harassment and bribery.
Mcnish was sentenced to six months in jail, while Morton was handed a 30-month penitentiary term.
Both men are free on bail pending sentence appeals.
Walton, a retired CPS member, was sentenced to three years for his role in the police corruption case.
Carter was to be sentenced a year ago but took ill in Russia and didn’t return to Calgary until last December. Although Justice Glen Poelman heard sentencing submissions from the Crown and defence, Carter’s lawyer, Gavin Wolch, has been allowed to reopen arguments in light of Carter’s health issues.