Cop’s defence claims Crown was willing ‘to cheat’ to win

The defence continued effort to convince a judge to stay proceedings in the trial of a Niagara Regional Police sergeant charged with an on-duty assault.

Defence lawyers Joe Markson and Kate Robertson finished their abuse of process application before Justice Cameron Watson in Ontario Court of Justice Monday in St. Catharines.

Markson told the judge Sgt. Jake Grant won’t be able to get a fair trial.

Markson said continuing the trial would “offend the community’s sense of decency and fair play” and bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

Grant was charged with assaulting Bruce Love, 30, in a downtown St. Catharines Subway in February 2017. There is a video of the interaction.

Crown attorney Shawn Porter will make his submissions today.

Markson said the Crown failed to disclose a recent Superior Court decision during the pretrial that could have a significant impact on the evidence in

Grant’s trail — and, given the totality of the Crown’s misconduct, there are no remedies available short of staying the proceedings.

That Superior Court decision dealt with police reports containing information from confidential informants and how much of that information the Crown can disclose to the defence.

Markson accused the Crown of “hiding” the fact that it knew the ruling was coming during the pretrial.

The original Crown attorney, Michael Perlin, recused himself.

Markson said it is the Crown’s duty to disclose all relevant information, not just that which secures a conviction, and full disclosure also reassures the public that justice has been done.

Markson theorized that the Crown lost sight of the pursuit of justice, and treated the case as a “competition” to win — even if it had to “cheat.”

“If I did something like this, I would expect you to hold me to account,” Markson told the judge.

Markson also told Watson that it is clear Love’s testimony was for sale, or could be bought, after Love met with another sergeant at the police station in St. Catharines and offered to drop the charges for $1,000.

Markson had harsh words for the Niagara Regional Police investigation, calling it a “poster case” for why polices service shouldn’t investigate themselves.

He said the investigating officers developed “tunnel vision” and were convinced Grant was guilty, regardless of where the evidence led.