Breaking news from the Thunder Bay courthouse, as the judge in suspended police Chief JP Levesque’s breach of trust and obstructing justice trial has reached a verdict.
Justice Bonnie Warkentin has dismissed both charges against Levesque. The packed court room erupted with a lone “yes” and then rounds of applause.
Both charges dismissed against suspended Police Chief JP Levesque. pic.twitter.com/fvF135yLEV
— @country105news (@Country105News) January 25, 2018
The charges relate to the release of confidential information from the RCMP to Mayor Keith Hobbs and whether Levesque’s actions were improper.
In explaining her reasoning for dropping the Obstruction of Justice charge, Warkentin said “I find that the Crown has not made out either of the essential elements of the offence of attempting to obstruct justice. I accept that Levesque was acting in good faith when he decided to speak with Hobbs and as such the exercise of his discretion as the chief of police was not improper. As a result the Crown has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Levesque attempted to obstruct justice.”
She added “Even if I am incorrect regarding Levesque’s exercise of discretion, the facts do not support that by improperly exercising his discretion, Levesque intended to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice or that he was wilfully blind regarding his conduct. The evidence supported the opposite, that Levesque intended to advance the course of justice based upon the circumstances in which he found himself.
Police Board Chair Jackie Dojack has said they’ll be meeting Friday morning to discuss the written decision and will be addressing the media as soon as possible.
Police Board Chair Jackie Dojack addresses JP Levesque verdict. #tbay pic.twitter.com/WYuTVfR4em
— @country105news (@Country105News) January 25, 2018
In explaining her reasoning for dismissing the Breach of Trust charge, Warkentin said she believed the explanation provided by Levesque for telling Hobbs about the extortion allegations.
She told the court “Committing an error in judgement does not satisfy the onus on the Crown to prove this element of the offence of breach of trust beyond a reasonable doubt.”
She continued “The Crown has therefore failed to prove the remainder of the elements of the offence of breach of trust beyond a reasonable doubt, namely that Levesque’s conduct represented a serious and marked departure from the standards expected of a chief of police and that he intended to use his public office for a purpose other than the public good and for a partial or dishonest purpose.”
The prosecution has said that they will be reviewing the verdict and deciding where to go from there.
The President of the Police Association says it’s been business as usual during Levesque’s trial. Greg Stephenson says there has been support for the Chief in the rank and file. “I’m very happy for JP Levesque and his family. It’s been a very tough year, it’s nice to see a resolution and we’ll move forward.”
You can watch what Levesque and his lawyer Brian Gover had to say about the verdict. (Photo and video by Sheri Leviski-Kotyk)
