Former RCMP officer’s lawyer still waiting for disclosure

Charges against Mike Hann were laid while he was a member of the force

CORNER BROOK — The Crown is still putting together the disclosure package in relation to charges being faced by a former Corner Brook Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer.

Mike Hann is charged with one count of possession of cocaine under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and two charges under the Criminal Code of unauthorized use of a computer and breach of trust. All the offences are alleged to have been committed while Hann was employed with the force.

According to the RCMP’S media relations officer, Hann resigned from the force earlier this month.

The fact the disclosure package has not been completed was revealed during an appearance before Judge Kymil Howe in provincial court in Corner Brook on Tuesday, May 30, when Hann’s lawyer, Bob Buckingham, said he had not received disclosure in the case.

Buckingham appeared via teleconference and Hann was not present.

Both the federal Crown and provincial Crown are involved in the case, and federal Crown prosecutor Glen Scheuer told the court that a significant and extensive amount of material had been provided to the Crown and it is being reviewed. He said some of the material requires vetting.

Scheuer said he anticipated being able to provide Buckingham with an initial package in the near future, with the rest to follow shortly after.

However, Buckingham said he preferred to have it all at the same time and asked if the Crown could suggest a date that it would be available.

Provincial Crown prosecutor Dana Sullivan also said it would be the Crown’s intention to get some of the essential material to Buckingham as soon as possible over the next week or so.

Buckingham reiterated that he didn’t want it in “bits and pieces.”

He said it could happen that there is a problem with the first instalment and then he’d have to come back to seek further information.

“My preference is to have it all at one time,” he said.

Howe set the matter over to July 18.

While the case is not at the point where pleas have been entered, the charges against Hann are indictable offences and he will have the choice of having them heard in provincial court or in supreme court. Should he elect to be tried in supreme court, Hann can then choose for his trial to be heard by a judge alone or by a judge and jury.

During Tuesday’s court appearance Howe also pointed out that a new information alleging the three charges that Hann is facing had been sworn before the court on May 15.

Sullivan said there was some changes made to the information and asked that the original one be withdrawn and replaced with the new one.

Hann was arrested on June 22, 2022, but the Serious Incident Response Teamnewfoundland and Labrador (SIRT-NL) didn’t lay the charges against him until Feb. 28.

In a press release issued by SIRT-NL in February, director Mike King said the team became involved in the investigation after the RCMP notified him of the allegations that a member was involved in illegal activity.

King also said the investigation had been ongoing since Hann’s arrest.