Documents show the Fredericton police filed a complaint with the New Brunswick Police Commission over an error by the force that scuttled murder cases this year.The complaint says the stayed charges against five people “raise serious and legitimate questions regarding the adequacy of investigative procedures, including, but not limited to, [Fredericton Police Force’s] Major Case Management systems and processes.”A copy of the complaint was among documents recently released by the city and police force in response to right-to-information requests from CBC News. The documents don’t reveal the nature of the error that led to the collapse of the cases.The records offer a glimpse into how officials handled the development, including telling elected officials to avoid answering media questions.On June 27, Fredericton-region murder cases came to a halt when the Crown stayed charges against Erica Lea Ann Blyth, Joshua John McIsaac, Devon Mark Hill Hood, Matthew David LeBlanc and Travis James Snowsell. Blyth, McIsaac, Hood and LeBlanc were accused of killing Brandon Donelan. McIsaac was also accused, along with Snowsell, of killing Corey Markey.Joshua McIsaac was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Brandon Donelan, and second-degree murder in the killing of Corey Markey. The charges were stayed in June. (Aidan Cox/CBC)Markey was shot on Fredericton’s north side early on Dec. 21, 2022, and died in hospital eight days later. Donelan was reported missing Jan. 30, 2022. His body was found in a wooded area off a snowmobile trail between Minto and Chipman on March 31, 2022.Chief Gary Forward has said an error in the city force’s investigation into Markey’s death led to the stays and also affected the RCMP investigation into Donelan’s death. How the error affected both hasn’t been explained.WATCH | Fredericton police chief files complaint about his own force:Complaint filed over error that ended Fredericton murder casesDocuments show the Fredericton police chief filed a complaint with the New Brunswick Police Commission over an error by his force that led to murder charges against five people being dropped in June.Forward has referred to building trust through “timely communication and transparency” in statements, but he has not provided an interview on the issue since the charges were stayed. The force has instead only issued written statements when asked for interviews.Forward announced in July that Ontario lawyer Ian D. Scott would carry out a review and issue a report, but the nature of the error would remain secret. The police force has said it is limited in what it can release, citing the Canada Evidence Act. It won’t say which section of that law applies.Charge stayed on verge of guilty pleaThe documents recently released to CBC include an email Forward sent police chiefs across the province hours before the charges were stayed. Forward wrote that a suspect, who he didn’t name, “was set to plead guilty next week but instead, will be set free on both matters.” Only McIsaac was charged in both homicides. McIsaac’s lawyer, Nathan Gorham, told CBC his client always denied involvement in a first-degree murder, “but we were pursuing a resolution for lesser offences when the Crown unexpectedly stayed the charges.”First-degree murder is a charge for a homicide that’s premeditated and deliberate, while lesser offences can include second-degree murder or manslaughter.Forward’s June 27 email to other chiefs says he had already conveyed his regret to the RCMP about the error and that he was sorry he couldn’t share more information.“I simply ask for patience and understanding that providing more information will only serve to further complicate and risk other components of the affected files.”A spokesperson for the Fredericton police said in a recent statement that Scott’s review is ongoing and a report is expected by the end of the year.As that review was being planned, the records released to CBC show the Fredericton police professional standards unit filed a service complaint with the police commission on behalf of the chief.“Given the gravity of these matters and the absence of criminal accountability in both cases, Chief Forward respectfully requests that the Commission formally process this complaint under its oversight mandate,” the July 8 complaint states. The commission is an independent civilian oversight body that oversees complaints about municipal police conduct or service. Complaints can be filed by any member of the public.Lawyer’s review to ‘inform’ complaint outcomeA service complaint is about services or policies of a force, while a conduct complaint is about actions of a specific officer.The police commission told CBC News earlier this year that legislation prevented it from saying whether a complaint had been filed.Marc Léger, the commission’s chair, recently confirmed to CBC that it received a service complaint and Scott’s review would “inform the outcome” of it. Léger said if the review finds breaches of the police code of conduct, those would be brought to the chief’s attention and filed with the commission for investigation. The documents released to CBC show Fredericton’s chief administrative officer, Steven Hart, suggested the review be the basis of the police commission investigation. Forward’s response shows he agreed.Michael Boudreau, a criminology professor at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, says the complaint shows the chief is taking the issue seriously. (Submitted by Michael Boudreau)Michael Boudreau, a criminology professor at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, said in an interview that it was surprising to see the complaint filed before the result of the independent review is known. But, Boudreau said it shows Forward is concerned.“It’s publicly embarrassing for the police department and by putting in the complaint now, I think they’re trying to show that they are taking this matter very seriously,” Boudreau said. “They’re trying to be as transparent as possible, at least from their perspective, and ultimately, depending on what happens with the independent review and now with this complaint, we may see some police officers lose their jobs.”The police force hasn’t said if anyone has been disciplined or fired over the error.Council told to ‘refrain from comment’Other records released to CBC outline how municipal and police communications officials handled news media. Hart, the CAO, wrote to council on June 27 saying it should “refrain from comment” and defer to the police force.In the days after the charges were stayed, requests to interview councillors and the mayor were met with statements that laws prevented elected officials from commenting. The city hasn’t said which sections of laws say that, and the records released to CBC show internal uncertainty.“I’m not certain which legislation limits the mayor and council’s ability to comment on or influence policing — the Police Act or the Local Governance Act, or both?” Shasta Stairs, the city’s manager of communications, wrote in a July 2 email. “I’ve checked with Megan [Barker] at FPF, but she wasn’t certain either,” referring to a spokesperson for the force.Other records show Deborah Nobes, the city’s managing director of strategic communications, asking that police delay issuing a statement about Scott’s review. “Hoping the timeline for release will be delayed,” Nobes wrote July 9. “We will have reporters in city hall for an event with the mayor on physician recruitment at that time.”The statement was issued two hours later than initially planned, after the event with the mayor.Nobes was a senior manager for CBC New Brunswick between 2019 and 2021.Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers in July expressed confidence in the police chief when asked about the stayed charges. (Silas Brown/CBC)When Mayor Kate Rogers did field questions from CBC in mid-July, Rogers expressed confidence in the police chief.Rogers said council wasn’t briefed on what led to the stayed charges. “I’m not able to be,” she said, referencing the Canada Evidence Act. Asked if the review could be considered transparent if the issue isn’t disclosed, Rogers said: “I think it’s not my place to speak on the transparency. All of that has been determined by acts, by provincial and federal acts that determine what is necessary for the public to be made aware of.”
Fredericton police error that ended murder cases prompts police commission complaint
