RNC’S report vindicates Andrew Abbass
A new report confirms what Andrew Abbass suspected all along about the six days he spent involuntarily confined to a psychiatric ward in Corner Brook in 2015.
“It was done out of malice and ill will towards me personally,” he said. Vindication — finally. Abbass complained to the RNC Public Complaints Commission four years ago, and the chief of police delegated the matter to now retired Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Deputy Chief Edmund Oates.
Oates’ report is scathing about the conduct of “Officer X.” He is not identified in the report, but it is clear from the details he is retired sergeant Tim Buckle.
“The unlawful detention directed by Officer X in bad faith represents such a serious departure from the high standards that all officers, and particularly RNC supervisors are expected to adhere to, that if Officer X had still been a police officer at the time of this decision, I would have imposed the penalty of dismissal upon him for his conduct…,” Oates writes.
He found that Buckle abused his authority by ordering Abbass detained under mental health legislation when there were no grounds to do so.
The case has a long and tangled history.
In 2015, Don Dunphy was fatally shot in his home by RNC Const. Joe Smyth after Dunphy had been tweeting angrily about injustices he’d experienced as an injured worker. Smyth was a close friend of Buckle’s and a member of then-premier Paul Davis’s security detail. An inquiry determined Smyth acted in self-defence.
Upon hearing of the shooting, Abbass posted angry social media messages of his own, including: “How about this Premier NL: I’m going to bring down Confederation and have politicians executed. Ready to have me shot, coward?”
Despite Buckle’s attempt to justify Abbass’s detention on the grounds his tweet constituted “violent ideation,” Oates saw the posts in context.
Acknowledging they could “certainly be fairly characterized as provocative of authority and politically charged,” Oates wrote, “In fact, the tweets show that (Abbass) was acutely aware of what was going on in the world around him… and actively engaged in a high level of discussion in a critical manner on social media respecting the apparent political overtones and implications arising from the shooting death of a member of the public who was publicly critical of the government/politicians.”
Oates’ report clearly establishes that Buckle ordered Abbass to be involuntarily detained, without justification or assessment.
“The fact that a person who poses a very low risk to others and suffers no mental illness could be detained by police for social media posts without proper legal authority in the absence of having committed a criminal offense, demonstrates how vulnerable members of the public are to deprivations of liberty by police officers who abuse their authority,” Oates observes.
Because Buckle is now retired, he faces no disciplinary action, though Abbass would like to see a criminal charge laid stemming from breach of trust.
In 2018, Abbass filed a lawsuit against the provincial government, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and Western Health Care Corp.
The unlawful detainment has haunted Abbass, the stigma casting shadows over his career and relationships.
At least Oates, in his report, does something no one else has yet done for Abbass, including the provincial government.
He apologizes. Abbass says he feels more hopeful now, and is enjoying time with his young son.
Like Oates, he hopes some good will come of the report, including increased transparency for the public when police officers are the subject of an investigation.
“If it had just been me, I might not have carried on with this,” Abbass said. “But I have a son that’s growing up in the shadow of this. …
“(Now), things are being uncovered. Things like this happen in the dark, but once you start shining light on it…
“There will have to be change. I think the public will demand it.”