Ex-Vancouver cop loses jail-term appeal for kissing sex-crime victims
Former Vancouver police Det. Jim Fisher has lost his appeal of a 20-month jail term for sex-related offences involving two vulnerable crime victims.
In a ruling released Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the sentence imposed on the highly decorated 61-year-old former cop.
In August, provincial court Judge Robert Hamilton imposed sentence on Fisher, who had admitted that he kissed one of the female victims three times, identified only as A due to a publication ban, and the second victim, identified as B, once.
Fisher got 12 months in jail for the breach of trust of A and another eight months for the breach of trust of B, to be served consecutively.
His lawyer argued that the main grounds for appeal were that an eight-month sentence for the single “spontaneous” kiss was grossly disproportionate and that the kiss was a terrible mistake by an officer who was apologetic and remorseful for his actions.
The kiss happened in December 2015 in Fisher’s personal vehicle after he asked B, who was 21 years old at the time but was 16 when she was a victim of a prostitution ring run by a pimp, to meet with him to discuss an investigation.
Fisher’s lawyer argued that the sentencing involving A and B ought to have been concurrent but if the court found a consecutive sentence was required, the eight-month sentence for the offence against B should be reduced to one or two months.
But in her reasons for judgment, B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Nicole Garson found that the sentence was not demonstrably unfit when the kiss was considered in the context of the victim’s history of abuse and her trusting relationship with Fisher.
The judge called it a “tragic” case where the victims had grown to trust and admire a senior police officer who had done all he could to help them improve their lives and bring to justice those who abused them.
The many letters of support were a testament to the exceptional nature of his police service and his “seemingly inexplicable” offending had had catastrophic consequences, she added.
“But, in my view, this appeal seeks to minimize the breach of trust and separate it from the full context in which it occurred,” said Garson.
“His offence against B was not just a kiss. His offence must be viewed in the broader context. The appellant must have known, considering his role in B’s life, that even non-aggressive or non-forceful conduct would be a serious breach of her trust in him.”
Chief Justice Robert Bauman and Justice Peter Willcock agreed with Garson’s reasons and the appeal was dismissed.