Saint John police officer at centre of Dennis Oland mistrial promoted despite controversy

The police officer at the centre of the Dennis Oland mistrial has been promoted, despite his role in the controversial practice of screening jury candidates.

Sean Rocca was promoted from constable to staff sergeant last week, according to a tweet on the Saint John Police Association’s Twitter page.

A spokesperson for the police force did not immediately reply for a request for comment on Tuesday.

READ MORE: No bloodstains found in Oland’s car, officer tells murder trial 

In November, Rocca was at the heart of the legal mess known as “jury shopping” that led to Justice Terrence Morrison to declare a mistrial in the Oland murder trial.

The practice of jury shopping is when the Crown uses otherwise private information about potential jurors to screen for qualities that may help its case.

Morrison declared the mistrial when he learned that Rocca had used a police database to track all interactions would-be jurors had with police.

Some of that information was then passed along to the Crown during the jury selection process.

“Const. Rocca confirmed that ‘absolutely’ during the jury selection process there were potential jurors that came forward where a CMS query led to discovering information about them,” wrote Oland’s defence team in their mistrial application.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Const. Rocca confirmed that 'absolutely' during the jury selection process there were potential jurors that came forward where a CMS query led to discovering information about them," wrote Oland's defence team in their mistrial application.

None of this information was disclosed to the defence, but Rocca confirmed that he offered his “opinion from time to time” to the Crown.

Despite the mistrial, Oland’s retrial has continued in front of Morrison alone.

Rocca, a 16-year veteran of the force, is facing a professional conduct investigation as the result of his actions.

The investigation was requested by the Saint John Board of Police Commissioners and is expected to begin at the conclusion of the Oland trial.

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Dennis Oland, 50, an investment adviser, is on trial for a second time for the bludgeoning death of his multi-millionaire father, Richard Oland, a member of the prominent Maritime beer-brewing family. He is the last known person to have seen his father alive on July 6, 2011.

In 2015, Dennis Oland was jailed for 10 months after a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his father. Dennis Oland was released on bail last year after a court overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.