SYDNEY, N.S. — Three members of the Cape Breton Regional Police Service have or will face charges under the Motor Vehicle Act for on-the-job collisions involving police vehicles.
Deputy Chief Robert Walsh updated members of the board of police commissioners on the status of the investigations into recent motor vehicle incidents involving officers and announced the charges at a meeting Tuesday.
“We consider these to be somewhat unique circumstances, each with their own unique situations that caused them to evolve,” Walsh told reporters.
The officers were all responding to emergencies at the time and it’s believed they were all acting in good faith, he said.
One member, Const. Sherry Harris, was charged related to a May 19 collision with a civilian vehicle on Memorial Drive in North Sydney, for failing to operate a vehicle at a careful and prudent speed for existing conditions
The summary offence charge carries a $410 fine, which has already been paid, six points and a one-week licence suspension. Walsh described Harris as being a relatively new member of the service, with about a year’s experience.
“She did not have a great deal of experience operating an emergency vehicle,” Walsh said.
The two remaining officers who have not yet been formally charged, so their names have not yet been released, were involved in a collision between two police cars that occurred around 4 a.m. in August along Highway 125 near the George Street and Grand Lake Road exits. Those vehicles were later scrapped for parts.
Walsh wouldn’t go into the specifics of that crash, because it hasn’t yet been resolved and could go to court if the officers plead not guilty.
They each face a charge of failing to operate a motor vehicle in a careful and prudent manner, which carries the same potential penalties as the charge that Harris faced. All three officers will also receive internal discipline, although Walsh did not specify what that may involve, and will have to go through additional driving training.
“These are the charges recommended through the investigation but they have not yet been formally served,” Walsh said, adding they came after what he described as extensive investigation by traffic collision reconstructionists and supplementary internal review processes.
Both incidents involved officers responding to emergency calls, Walsh said.
“While there are exemptions under the Motor Vehicle Act for emergency response, officers must still drive with due care and attention to ensure public safety,” he said.
In the new year, all members will also undergo additional training in defensive driving for emergency vehicles.
As for why the investigations have taken as long as they have, Walsh said they involved reconstructionists, internal reviews and they also occurred during busy times of year for the service.
When asked if the service should investigate these sorts of incidents involving its own officers, Walsh said they believe they have the capacity to do so, with results coming forward to the police commission and being made public.
“We always make the public calls for service our priority, so when the traffic service has to investigate collisions that involve the public, we put those first,” Walsh said.
He did not have a figure for the financial impact of the crashes on police coffers, nor could he say when the last time a police officer with the service faced a Motor Vehicle Act charge for an incident that occurred while they were on the job.
Board member Coun. Steve Gilliespie noted the collisions have been a topic of discussion in the community.
“This is something that I hadn’t seen before, where there have been so many incidents in a short period of time. I’m glad to see that there’s an internal issue here that is being addressed,” he said.
While he acknowledged the unusually high number of incidents in a short period of time, Walsh noted the police service does have about 200 members, with a fleet of 79 vehicles, responding to a variety of calls for service, including emergencies and in many different weather conditions.
He added they take all officer-involved collisions seriously.
“Ultimately, we want to correct the behaviours. If people are making errors in judgment in how they’re operating an emergency vehicle, it’s all about public safety and officer safety,” Walsh said.
There has also been another incident involving a CBRPS vehicle. A cruiser crashed into a Sydney house last month on Argyle Street, with a spokesperson indicating that the marked police car had hydroplaned and rolled over into a yard. That is still under investigation. Once the probe is complete, Walsh said the results will be publicly reported.
The Cape Breton Post filed a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy request for documents related to the crash under the province’s Municipal Government Act.
The force denied access to the records on grounds that “disclosure of such information may harm the effectiveness of investigative techniques or procedures currently being used, or likely to be used.” The Post is appealing that decision.
