Police officers ordered to turn blind eye to man’s crimes, report says

Blunt orders from senior police telling officers to turn a blind eye to a Newfoundland’s man’s crimes shows fresh leadership and civilian oversight are needed, the province’s justice minister said Thursday.

“It’s time to change course and rebuild trust,” Andrew Parsons told reporters after he received an independent report that examined whether unnamed senior officers obstructed justice.

Two supervisors with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary told front-line officers to make no arrests despite their observation of a man committing “a serious property crime.”

The man was under surveillance by police and seen as “an individual who might be able to assist” with a major case involving organized crime, the report said.

The report concluded the senior officers didn’t obstruct justice, and a third officer played no significant role in the case.

It said the command was “reasonable” because the senior officers thought the man might help them solve a major case.

However, the report also says the supervisors did a poor job of communicating or explaining the reasons to the front-line officers, creating concerns.

“Unfortunately, it seemed that officers 1 and 2 tended toward a management style that was top down in nature,” wrote Ronald MacDonald, the chair of Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team, which prepared the 12-page report.

“There was no discussion with the officers who observed the subject’s behaviour to explain why charges were not laid or pursued.”

“Better communication about the decision-making process and the rationales involved would have resulted in a better understanding and appreciation for the direction of the front line officers.”

The case prompted Parsons to tell a news conference that he’s looking for changes in management style from the next chief of the police force of over 400 people. The current police chief, William Janes, is set to retire this month.

“In the past year-and-a-half that I’ve been minister of this department, there’s been ... serious concerns within the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary,” Parsons said.