Three Vancouver police officers who were investigated in relation to disgraced former detective James Fisher will not face criminal charges.
The BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) made the announcement in a news release Wednesday, publicly acknowledging for the first time that a special prosecutor had been appointed to the case nearly three years ago.
The special prosecutor’s investigation concluded on May 30, the service said, and the charge assessment standard for criminal charges has not been met for any of the officers,” meaning that no charges would be approved.
Fisher, a former decorated officer in the department’s counter-exploitation unit, was sentenced in 2018 to 20 months in jail and two years’ probation for kissing two female witnesses, one who was 17 at the time, during investigations against convicted pimps Reza Moazami and Michael Bannon.
Last November, the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner (OPCC) confirmed that three other officers were facing an investigation into alleged misconduct in relation to Fisher’s case.
The prosecution service revealed on Wednesday that a special prosecutor had been appointed to look into the matter following a July 7, 2017 request from the complaints commissioner about “allegations of serious misconduct” by three officers in the counter-exploitation unit.
The OPCC says Vancouver police referred the matter to the watchdog.
The Alberta RCMP investigated and submitted a report to Crown counsel for consideration of charges on Aug. 7, 2019, the BCPS news release said, and continued to provide the special prosecutor with evidence until December.
The public was only learning now about the special prosecutor, and his conclusions, because “several related matters are pending, including the conduct investigation under the Police Act.”
The OPCC was not involved in the criminal investigation and cannot speak to what charges were forwarded to prosecutors. It said it can not comment on details of an ongoing Police Act investigation.
Vancouver police said the officers in question remain employed by the department, but declined to comment further.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said Alberta RCMP had recommended charges to Crown counsel. In fact, they submitted a report to Crown counsel for consideration of charges.
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