RNC officer cites ‘malicious prosecution’ against him
Justice minister confirms outside agency will investigate Tim Buckle’s actions
RNC Sgt. Tim Buckle told the media Thursday he is considering his legal options based on “malicious prosecution” after Justice Minister Andrew Parsons ordered yet another investigation into the matter of
Buckle giving a heads-up to a fellow police officer who was under criminal investigation.
Parsons said the government finally got confirmation that the Nova Scotia Serious Incident Response Team (NSSIRT) was ready to take on the case.
Parsons said that with people questioning their trust in police in this province, this is one measure that might help rebuild confidence.
In an emailed statement to the media, Buckle said he did nothing wrong, and he’s considering his legal options.
Buckle was working in Corner Brook when fellow
RNC officer
Const. Sean
Kelly was under investigation for making obscene phone calls to a woman.
Kelly was ultimately charged and convicted, but during the investigation Buckle let Kelly know what was happening.
When the Corner Brook RNC received a complaint from a woman about obscene phone calls, the officer investigating realized that the cellphone the calls came from belonged to Kelly.
At that point, she went to Sgt. Tim Buckle, a representative of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association (RNCA), who in turn called Kelly to talk to him about it.
Buckle told Kelly they were “jammed up” in how to get around this.
According to a transcript of the phone conversation, Buckle said to Kelly, “You got to come up with somebody that called that number twice that used your phone.”
Fellow officers with the RNC investigated Buckle and determined he didn’t do anything wrong.
After the judge in the Kelly court case raised concerns publicly, the matter was referred to the province’s director of public prosecutions for review. Then the review was sent to the Ontario Provincial Police for further investigation, but the OPP ultimately determined there were no grounds to lay charges.
“The big thing here is that the investigations that have happened so far have been police investigations, and we’ve indicated that we don’t think that’s the best way to operate,” Parsons said.
So now the civilian-led NSSIRT will investigate.
But Buckle said he never meant to interfere in the investigation, and actually helped secure Kelly’s conviction. Moreover, Buckle said, the previous investigations all concluded he did nothing wrong.
“This latest announcement by Minister of Justice, the Honourable Andrew Parsons, that the matter has been referred to NS SIRT, has left me no choice but to explore the option of a tort for malicious prosecution against Graham Watton, who prompted the repeated investigations, the RNC, and the Government of NL,” Buckle stated in his email.
Buckle said Kelly already knew he was under investigation when he called him, and the “heads-up” comment is being misconstrued.
“My comments to Mr Kelly, that he ‘… had to come up with somebody who made those calls …’ were not directional but rather a challenge to his assertion that he couldn’t explain his actions,” Buckle wrote.
“My subsequent involvement in this investigation identified an additional victim that had been harassed by Mr. Kelly and that evidence was used in the trial as ‘similar fact evidence’ to aid in the conviction of Mr. Kelly.”