Defence lawyers fear innocent people jailed in cases linked to police corruption

Innocent people may have been sent to jail because their prosecutions were based on evidence by four Winnipeg police constables caught up in corruption charges.

“Many of these accused who were eventually convicted may have served sentences already,” said Chris Gamby of the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba on Friday.

“There is no way to get that time back,” the lawyer said, calling it “disheartening.”

Defence counsel are being asked to go back through files and investigate cases that involve any of the officers — constables Elston Bostock, Vernon Strutinsky, Jonathan Kiazyk and Matthew Kadyniuk.

“Miscarriages of justice are to be investigated whenever possible,” Gamby said.

The case reviews are expected to add pressure to the justice system, which is already strained.

Progressive Conservative justice critic Wayne Balcaen, a former Brandon police chief, said the reviews will add to the workload of Crown attorneys and defence lawyers and consume “finite” legal aid resources and court time.

“I think this will be a lot of work and certainly slow down the wheels of justice, as they have to take time,” Balcaen said.

“It’s very, very important to make sure there’s no wrongful convictions and that there’s no convictions that have happened because of coercion or any of the other issues that could come forward,” Balcaen said, emphasizing individuals who may have been charged erroneously must be protected.

“It’s very, very important to make sure there’s no wrongful convictions and that there’s no convictions that have happened because of coercion or any of the other issues that could come forward.”

”I’m not saying that that happened, but that could be the case,” said Balcaen.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe declined an interview request.

In a prepared statement, he said the government has made building up the capacity of the criminal justice system a top priority. It pointed to reducing the vacancy rate for court clerks and hiring more Crown attorneys and increasing their pay. “We will keep working hard to ensure that all Manitobans have timely access to justice.”

The Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys declined to comment Friday.

Gamby said he doesn’t know how lawyers will be paid to pull old files and review the case documents, but Legal Aid Manitoba has said it will fund appeals where an issue has been detected.

It will be a concern for ongoing prosecutions involving the four officers, he said.

“Whether the issue is big or small will depend on their role in the case, and whether their involvement was transporting an accused or some similar duty that is peripheral to the main investigation or if it’s much more central — where they were in change of exhibits in a given case,” for example.

Premier Wab Kinew said Friday — on the day Bostock pleaded guilty to a raft of corruption charges — the government is considering changes to the law regarding police discipline.

“Changes do need to be made just to make sure that everybody knows that we’re going to be safe in the community and that law enforcement is going to be doing the job that we want from them,” Kinew said when asked about it at an unrelated event in Brandon.

Following the arrest of Bostock in August, Winnipeg Police Service Chief Gene Bowers wrote to the justice minister. Bowers requested changes to provincial law to allow and require police to publish information about internal discipline taken against officers and to establish a uniform code of conduct for Manitoba law-enforcement personnel.

The minister declined to comment Friday, deferring to remarks made by the premier.

Kinew said the province received a request from Winnipeg police for legislative changes regarding “disciplinary processes,” and would reach out to the Winnipeg Police Association, the union for officers. Association president Cory Wiles said they’ve had limited conversations with the justice minister but haven’t seen specific proposals. “We are always happy to engage constructively,” he said in an email.

“Changes do need to be made just to make sure that everybody knows that we’re going to be safe in the community and that law enforcement is going to be doing the job that we want from them.”

The premier said changes to legislation could take more than a year, and that there are actions the city can take “immediately,” without providing examples. “It’s really just about keeping people safe.”

Balcaen urged the province to listen to its police chiefs.

“They’re the voices that are on the front line and that have to deal with these issues when they unfortunately do arise,” the Tory justice critic said.

“Police services do all they can to root out bad members. Management doesn’t want them, but I guarantee you the other police service members don’t want them. They want to work in a professional, respected environment.”

Independent Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw, who is a criminal defence lawyer, said declining trust in police is a serious social issue that requires action.

“We need to make sure that the public trusts them, and if you don’t have strong laws holding them accountable, you know there’s going to be problems.”

He said the province introduced a registry to disclose disciplinary action for teachers and should do likewise for police officers.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca