Conflict brewing amid jurors in police corruption case

The judge presiding over the case of three Calgarians charged with stalking in an alleged police corruption case quizzed two jurors about potential bias Wednesday.

Justice Glen Poelman asked both a potential whistleblower and the juror at the centre of the controversy about concerns regarding potential personal opinions of private investigators clouding deliberations.

A male jury member, identifiable only as juror No. 4, told Poelman and Crown and defence lawyers that another jury member expressed she had a similar experience to the case they’re ruling on.

“She feels she’s been saved from something similar in life,” juror No. 4 said, without elaborating.

“It’s been said she can’t change her ways based on a previous experience that she’s had,” he said.

But when that jury member, juror No. 7, was subsequently

I feel totally I can be honest and I can look at the evidence

brought in to be questioned by Poelman, she denied being biased in her deliberations.

She insisted she could continue to fairly preside over the fate of the three accused.

“I feel totally I can be honest and I can look at the evidence,” she told Poelman when asked about her ability to remain impartial.

“I just felt that because I had differing views from the other jurors that I was being picked on,” she said, adding she could handle any criticism.

Poelman then brought the entire jury back in to remind them of the need to express their views openly and to change their opinion if the evidence warranted it.

But he said if any jury member felt convinced of a particular view they could hold on to it, which could result in a mistrial in the case.

Wealthy Calgary businessman Ken Carter, along with former Calgary police Det. Steve Walton and Walton’s wife Heather, a former civilian member of the force, are charged with criminal harassment over an alleged campaign of intimidation against Carter’s former girlfriend.

They ’re accused of stalking Akele Taylor in 2012 and 2013, during a child custody dispute between her and Carter.

The Waltons also face charges of police bribery for allegedly hiring officers to engage in the harassment, as well as charges of improperly storing restricted firearms.

Jurors began deliberations around noon on Tuesday.