ASIRT investigating use of police databases to access info on Shannon Phillips

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team will be conducting an investigation into a series of potentially unauthorized uses of police databases to access private information on MLA Shannon Phillips by members of the Lethbridge Police Service dating back to 2018.

ASIRT announced on Tuesday it had been directed to investigate the potentially unlawful use of the databases by LPS officers.

A statement released by Phillips’ attorney Michael Bates on social media later in the day confirmed ASIRT was investigating the events surrounding actions undertaken by LPS officers against his client.

“On behalf of my client, Shannon Phillips, MLA for Lethbridge West,” it reads, “I can confirm we have been informed that the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been assigned to investigate alleged unlawful searches of Ms. Phillips’ private information using Lethbridge Police Services databases.

“These matters came to the attention of Ms Phillips after receiving results of a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy request for an audit of all such database searches by LPS personnel dating back to May of 2015.”

ASIRT confirms it is investigating two accesses in January 2018 and again in November of 2018.

Its investigation will examine whether these searches were conducted for a “lawful purpose.”

It is unclear at this time if this ASIRT investigation overlaps with Phillips’ appeal of another incident where two LPS officers admitted to conducting an unauthorized surveillance of her in 2017 when she was Alberta Minister of Environment, or if this instead represents two other unrelated incidents undertaken by other LPS members.

Phillips’ attorney confirms the MLA is currently reviewing her legal options pertaining to these matters.