Obstruction of justice, perjury charges dropped against police officer

Charges have been dropped against a Montreal police officer accused of committing perjury and obstructing justice, in a high-profile case brought against him and his partner. David Chartrand, 39, had been a member of the police for 11 years when he was arrested in July 2016 with his partner Fayçal Djelidi, 41. The case made headlines because both were part of a squad that investigated street gangs and had access to police informants. The investigation that produced the charges was conducted by the Montreal police internal affairs division. A Quebec Superior Court judge was scheduled to hear motions over the course of at least two days at the Montreal courthouse this week. But instead, Justice Myriam Lachance was informed by prosecutor Nicolas Poulin on Wednesday that all four of the charges against Chartrand would be placed under a stay of proceedings through a “nolle prosequi” — a Latin legal term meaning the Crown is no longer willing to prosecute. Poulin said the decision was made after new evidence led the prosecution to conclude it would be difficult to convict Chartrand. Instead of hearing motions, the case against Djelidi, who still faces nine charges, was merely carried over to near the end of January. All of the charges brought against Chartrand involved an investigation that he and Djelidi were conducting in June 2016. Both were charged with committing perjury and obstructing justice by making a false declaration under oath, on June 10, 2016, to get a search warrant and other court orders related to the investigation. When Chartrand and Djelidi were arrested, along with two other members of the Montreal police who were never charged, then police chief Philippe Pichet held a news conference and said the investigation began after “administrative irregularities” were discovered. He also said: “(These were) mistakes in the way to control sources and report different things.” The arrests came just before allegations about the Montreal police internal affairs division were made public. The allegations led to the Chamberland Commission, a public inquiry into how the police spied on certain journalists; an investigation of the Montreal police internal affairs division; and, ultimately, to the loss of Pichet’s job.