Watch above: A nine year member of the Saskatoon Police Service has been found guilty of obstructing justice. Meaghan Craig says the charge stems from the disappearance of a witness statement in a domestic dispute case.
SASKATOON – Guilty. Moments after court proceedings got underway Thursday, a judge delivered his verdict and opted not to read his 19-page decision to the court. Instead Judge Harradence told the court there was sufficient evidence to find Const. Steven Nelson guilty of obstructing justice.
Charged in October 2014 and suspended with pay since that time, Nelson, 33 is convicted of wilfully attempting to obstruct justice sometime between Aug. 13, 2012 and Oct. 8, 2013 after a victim’s statement disappeared.
Perhaps the most damaging evidence presented in court, an audio recording of Nelson telling another constable to “rip up” the statement. The half-page statement was provided by a woman recanting her story to Nelson from the day before regarding an alleged domestic dispute.
Const. Melynchuk: “She’s saying now that she wasn’t assaulted at all and she fell numerous times.”
Const. Nelson: “Yeah, that can be ripped up, I already talked to her on the phone tonight. I told her I was not dropping the charges.”
During the two day trial, Melynchuk told the court he did not do as Nelson advised and handed the statement to him upon his return to the station to proceed with further follow-up.
Taking the stand in his own defence, Nelson testified that the second statement was either misplaced, attached to the wrong file or he threw it away out of frustration. Several times in court he said couldn’t remember details regarding the evidence including the audio conversation or speaking with the woman that day.
READ MORE: Saskatoon police officer testifies at his obstructing justice trial
The judge didn’t believe him and said Nelson took deliberate steps to conceal the existence of the second statement.
“I find the accused’s evidence as a whole to be both unreliable and incredible,” said the judge in his written decision.
“I am of the view that he remembers more of the circumstances then he testified to and his testimony is dishonest and untruthful.”
The judge wrote that he found the conversation between the two constables troubling and questioned in his decision whether the two even knew this critical piece of evidence was being recorded.
Police Chief Clive Weighill stressed to the media Thursday afternoon that this incident is an isolated one and any suggestion that this is a systemic problem is a gross exaggeration.
“I think any time you have a police officer that’s found guilty of a criminal offence, it definitely brings disrepute to the police service and I want to assure the citizens of Saskatoon that there are no systemic issues here, we conducted the investigation, it was taken to court, he’s been found guilty and we’ll deal with it administratively.”
An administrative investigation into the actions of both constables has been ordered immediately and Nelson will remain suspended with pay as a provision of the Saskatchewan Police Act.
Prior to the charge last October, Nelson had no blemishes on his record and did not know either involved in the alleged domestic dispute.
Both counsel declined to comment to the media until they could review the full decision themselves.
Nelson is to be sentenced on Aug. 14.
Comments