An “historic inquiry” aimed at ensuring the public has confidence in Alberta’s police and civilian oversight bodies has been launched into the handling of a case that saw perjury and assault allegations levelled against two Calgary police officers.
“The Law Enforcement Review Board (LERB) will hold an inquiry to examine whether there were any efforts to hinder public oversight of officers involved in the arrest of Jason Cyrus Arkinstall during a traffic stop in August 2008,” Alberta Justice and Solicitor General said in a statement Wednesday.
Sgt. Les Kaminski, who is now Calgary Police Association president, had been charged with one count of assault with a weapon and one count of perjury. The assault charge was dropped July 17; Kaminski is awaiting trial on the perjury charge.
Const. Brant Derrick had been charged with one count of assault causing bodily harm and is awaiting trial.
The inquiry will examine the time between Arkinstall’s arrest in 2008 and the ASIRT charges in 2017 “to determine if any acts or omissions by people with responsibilities connected to policing prevented proper oversight of the case.”
CPA vice president Mike Lomore previously told Global News it “isn’t reasonable” to “hold discipline over our officer’s head for eight-and-a-half years” for unproven allegations.
When the perjury charge was first laid, Criminal Trial Lawyers’ Association Policing Committee Chair Tom Engel suggested all previous cases Kaminski had testified at should be reviewed by the Solicitor General. Alberta Justice declined to comment on that aspect of the matter at the time.
The CPS had said a review of the matter was conducted after the trial and determined no further action was required, but Supt. Steve Barlow admitted in January that “the service should have conducted a formal investigation at the time.”
Watch below from January 2017: Supt. Steve Barlow of the Calgary Police Service says upon review CPS should have performed an internal investigation when complaints against two officers came forward.
The LERB inquiry is a response to the concerns raised by the Criminal Trial Lawyers’ Association, the Calgary Police Service (CPS) and the Calgary Police Commission (CPC) after an Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) investigation already took place.
Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Kathleen Ganley, ASIRT executive director Susan Hughson, Calgary Police Chief Roger Chaffin, CPC Chair Brian Thiessen and Engel endorsed the review for its transparency.
“This is a historic occasion in civilian oversight of the police in this province, as an inquiry by the Law Enforcement Review Board has never happened before,” Engel said. “Not only will this inquiry be beneficial to the citizens of Calgary, the Calgary Police Service and the administration of justice in Calgary, but it will also well serve all Albertans who value excellent policing services.”
Timeline provided by Alberta Justice:
- Aug. 31, 2008: Arkinstall is arrested by CPS, charged with uttering threats, resisting arrest and obstructing a police officer.
- Jan. 14, 2011: A provincial court judge acquits Arkinstall of uttering threats (the Crown withdrew charges of resisting arrest and obstructing a police officer at outset of the trial). In his reasons for decision, the presiding judge raised concerns about the conduct of the arresting officers.
- Feb. 2014: The matter is referred to ASIRT for investigation.
- Jan. 17, 2017: ASIRT lays charges against CPS officers Kaminski and Derrick.
- As of July 26, 2017: Kaminski is awaiting trial on one count of perjury and Derrick will be tried on one count of assault in connection with allegations that surfaced after the officers arrested Arkinstall.
Alberta Justice said the inquiry will operate independently from the ongoing criminal proceedings against Kaminski and Derrick.
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