A Saint John Police Force officer charged with falsifying a police report has elected to be tried by a judge and jury.
Sgt. David Kimball of Quispamsis, N.B., was charged in November after the RCMP said it had examined the officer’s actions in an investigation April 17 and April 18, 2021, in Saint John.
At the time of the charges, the RCMP said it was responding to a complaint it received May 7 from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada into the officer’s actions.
Kimball is charged with falsifying a police report, obstruction of justice by providing a false report and breach of trust in connection with the duties of his office. He has pleaded not guilty.
The charge of falsifying a police report, under Section 137 of the Criminal Code of Canada, carries with it a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
In court Wednesday, Nathan Gorham, Kimball’s defence attorney, requested a preliminary hearing for that charge.
Nova Scotia provincial judge Alain Bégin, presiding over the hearing by video conference, scheduled a one-day hearing for July 29, 2022.
Prosecutor Robert Kennedy, also from Nova Scotia, spoke to the court by phone.
Saint John Police Force suspended Kimball with pay during the court proceedings.
It said a Police Act investigation will commence following the court case.