Legal Issues In Policing

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In this episode, Mike discusses the Manitoba Court of Appeal decision R. v. Devos, 2024 MBCA 23 where police made a demand for breath samples following a single vehicle rollover where a 15-year-old passenger was killed. Did the officer have the required reasonable grounds for the breathalyzer demand? And what happens when judges don’t see all of the facts the same way? Can evidence be reasonably subject to different interpretations? And would the officer’s grounds stand up even when some of what the officer relied upon was discounted?  

Check out the JIBC Police Academy — International Use of Force Expert Conference — April 23-26, 2024. Last chance to register is April 16.

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In this episode, Mike discusses the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decision R. v. Maurer, 2024 SKCA 20 where a K9 was stabbed after police tried to arrest a man for sexual assault. Despite an acquittal on the sexual assault charge, the man was convicted at trial in provincial court for resisting arrest (s. 129(a)), injuring a law enforcement animal (s. 445.01(1)) and carrying concealed weapons (s. 90). Was the man’s arrest lawful such that the police were in the execution of their duties? Does the legality of an arrest even matter? Does a person have the right to resist an unlawful arrest?  Find out what an appeal court had to say. 

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In this episode, Mike discusses the New Brunswick Court of Appeal decision R. v. Morrison, 2024 NBCA 35 where police conducted an inventory search of a vehicle they towed from a bar parking lot. Did a request to be on the look out for the vehicle, having earlier been involved in a high-speed chase with the RCMP, taint the inventory search ? Or could police have other investigative reasons in mind when inventorying the vehicle and its contents. Did the police go too far in searching a book bag found on the front seat or a soft case found under it? And did the discovery of any drugs taint the issuance of a search warrant and render the search unreasonable under s. 8 of the Charter? 

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In this episode, Mike discusses recent survey results from polling about the amount of confidence or trust Canadians have in various institutions, including the school system, media, parliament, the justice system and courts, and the police. Just how did the police stack up against these other institutions? No surprises here. Check out the results for yourself.

Confidence in institutions and the media, 2023 — February 2024
Confidence in Canadian Institutions (infographic) — November 2023
Institutional Confidence: Canadians’ and Americans’ Perspectives — November 2023
Experiences of discrimination in daily life among Chinese people in Canada, and their perceptions of and experiences with the police and the justice system — August 2023

Note-able quotes:

"Any one can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” — Publilius Syrus
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” — John Shed
“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” — Franklin Roosevelt 

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In this episode, Mike discusses dynamic entries and the legal standard for deviating from the long standing common law rule of "knock and announce" by looking at two recent Ontario Superior Court decisions, R. v. Russell, 2024 ONSC 529 (watch the police entry here) and R. v. Harper, 2024 ONSC 925. Learn about the origins of the rule and how the Supreme Court of Canada explained it more than a decade ago. Would you be prepared to justify an unannounced hard entry should you need to? Or would you be in the same position as the officers in the cases discussed? 

Check out the JIBC Police Academy — International Use of Force Expert Conference — April 23-26, 2024.

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TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains graphic content of animal cruelty which may shock, offend or upset.

In this episode, Mike discusses the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal decision R. v. Picco, 2023 NSCA 33, an animal cruelty case involving the treatment of four beagles. When authorities found the dogs, they were in “deplorable condition”, “emaciated”, “starving” and “near death”. You can see one of the dogs for yourself. Despite their condition, the trial judge found the dogs were not “suffering”, an essential actus reus element of a crime their owner was charged with. Did the trial judge’s ruling hold up on appeal? Or was the judge way off the mark? Listen to discover the answer to these and other questions.

s. 445.1(1)(a) Criminal Code — Causing unnecessary suffering

Every one commits an offence who (a) wilfully causes or, being the owner, wilfully permits to be caused unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal or a bird.

Beagle Paws

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In this episode, Mike discusses R. v. Isaac, 2022 MBPC 73, where police acted on the tip of a confidential informer reporting a man with a particular name would be attending a particular area, at a particular time, by a particular mode of transportation with drugs and cash? When police arrived at the location within the anticipated time,  they saw the man as described, arrested him and found methamphetamine and cash. Did the police have the necessary grounds for the arrest?  How does a court assess the reliability of source information? What if the tip had been anonymous? Listen to discover the answer to these and other questions. You might also want to check out R. v. Jir, 2010 BCCA 497, another case discussed in this episode.  

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In this episode, Mike discusses the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal decision R. v. Arsenault, 2024 NSCA 10, an update to a case featured in E3| Inventory searches. Things that make you go hmmm? This case involved a vehicle  inventory search in which a loaded handgun was found in a glovebox and was seized without a warrant. Was this warrantless seizure lawful? Listen to find out what Nova Scotia's top court said when it weighed in on the matter. 

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In this episode, Mike discusses R. v. Zacharias, 2023 SCC 30 a case involving a traffic stop that led to an investigative detention for a drug offence and the deployment of a sniffer dog. When the dog signalled the presence of drugs, the driver was arrested and the vehicle was searched incidental to arrest. This led to the discovery of more than 100 lbs. of marihauna along with other evidence including $12,600 in cash. Further arrests for PPT and possessing proceeds of crime followed as did transport to the police detachment for booking. Did the officer have enough to detain the driver and use the K9? If he didn’t, could the hit by the dog still be used to justify the arrest that followed? Or would the arrest also be unlawful and everything else that followed breach the Charter? And if the Charter was infringed, would the evidence be excluded? Listen to discover the answer to these and other questions. 

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In this episode, Mike discusses R. v. Noor, 2022 ONCA 338 where police responded to a 911 report of a man flashing a gun in the waistband of his pants. When police approached the accused — a man matching the suspect description found in the area — he appeared startled and quickly walked away. The  man resisted police efforts to detain him and a violent struggle ensued. In the process of overcoming his resistance, police saw the butt of a handgun inside the man’s jacket pocket. Was this encounter an investigative detention or an arrest? Did the police have the necessary grounds to physically restrain the accused? Was the degree of force used to control him reasonable?  Was the seizure of the handgun lawful?  Listen to discover the answer to these and other questions. 

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