Mountie had sex with Surrey Six witness
Details of former RCMP officer’s misconduct come to light after publication ban lifted
Derek Brassington, seen as a “rising star” in the RCMP, partied with and had sex with a witness in the Surrey Six murder investigation in locations across Canada over a period of months.
The details of the misconduct of Brassington and two other Mounties who also pleaded guilty in connection with their duties during the investigation of B.C.’s largest gangland slaying, can be reported for the first time after a publication ban was lifted Wednesday.
After submissions by media lawyer Daniel Coles, B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes set aside much of the ban imposed on the circumstances of the case when Brassington, David Attew and Danny Michaud pleaded guilty and were sentenced.
In an agreed statement of facts, it was revealed that Brassington became involved with the witness, who can only be identified as Jane Doe 1 due to an ongoing ban, in June 2009 when she moved to Calgary and agreed to co-operate with police. During the next several months, Jane Doe 1, who had knowledge of the October 2007 murders in Surrey and had been threatened, was relocated to various places throughout Canada. To keep her on-board as a witness, investigators with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) assigned Brassington to work with her.
Between June and December 2009 Brassington engaged in an ongoing relationship with Jane Doe 1, frequently drinking alcohol with her. He lied to fellow police officers and manipulated the witness protection program to spend time alone with her.
They had sex together in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Victoria, Toronto and the Lower Mainland. Brassington compromised her security on several occasions and billed the RCMP for witness management trips that included his pursuit of his relationship with her, including billing overtime for hours spent drinking and having sex with her.
“This conduct constituted a breach of trust and amounted to a serious and marked departure from the standard of conduct expected of an RCMP officer engaged in witness management duties,” said the agreed statement of facts.
Particulars of the offence include a trip by Brassington to Calgary in June 2009 that saw him and another officer exploring Jane Doe’s willingness to co-operate with the investigation. They took her out to dinner and while the other cop was in a washroom, Brassington and Jane Doe discussed a plan to spend time alone together. Brassington and Jane Doe told the other cop that Jane Doe was going to spend the night at a friend’s house.
But after Brassington and the cop went to their hotel, Brassington returned to the bar where Jane Doe had agreed to wait for him and then took the witness back to his hotel where they had sex.
The next month, when Brassington flew to Halifax to attend to another witness, he obtained authorization to fly Jane Doe out to Halifax to meet with him for the purpose of securing her co-operation in the investigation. She provided information about the murders, but also spent three nights at his hotel having sex with Brassington.
Then the pair flew together to Montreal where they had sex again in a hotel.
Brassington received a conditional sentence of two years less a day to be served in the community after a joint submission from the Crown and defence.
Attew and Michaud admitted to a lesser involvement, pleading guilty to non-criminal misconduct and receiving shorter, house-arrest sentences.