News (Media Awareness Project) - CN ON: Acquitted RCMP Officer No Longer A Member Of Force |
| Title: | CN ON: Acquitted RCMP Officer No Longer A Member Of Force |
| Published On: | 2001-09-05 |
| Source: | Kitchener-Waterloo Record (CN ON) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-25 08:56:30 |
ACQUITTED RCMP OFFICER NO LONGER A MEMBER OF FORCE
A Kitchener RCMP officer acquitted in June of breach of trust is no longer
a member of the force.
Const. Donald (Gregory) MacPhee was scheduled to appear for an internal
disciplinary hearing on Aug. 27, but the hearing was cancelled, said Sgt.
Mike Mason of the RCMP's internal affairs branch.
While federal privacy legislation prevents him from saying whether MacPhee
has left the force, Mason said, "In general terms, any member who is no
longer an employee of the RCMP is not answerable to the provisions of the
RCMP Act and is not subject to a disciplinary hearing."
Asked if MacPhee is still subject to a disciplinary hearing, Mason said
he's not.
But MacPhee's legal problems are far from over as the Crown is appealing
his acquittal.
In June, Justice Ron Sills acquitted the 26-year police veteran of breach
of trust saying there was no evidence the officer was feeding his
girlfriend confidential police information about a major drug investigation
in which she was a suspect.
The Crown is appealing that acquittal on grounds that the judge made errors
in law in his legal interpretation of breach of trust.
No date has been set for the hearing to be held at the Ontario Court of
Appeal in Toronto.
The 48-year-old officer had been suspended with pay since his arrest in
April 1998.
The breach of trust charge related to allegations that MacPhee made close
to 190 queries on two police computer systems from Nov. 1, 1998, to April
21, 1999, which were not related to his job as a customs and excise officer.
Most of the queries related to Operation Joanna, a major drug investigation
launched by the RCMP in New Brunswick in November 1998.
Some of the names MacPhee queried included his new girlfriend, Donna
Leadbeater, who was a suspect in the drug investigation, and Pierre Daigle,
a high-profile drug dealer who visited the Glace Bay, N.S., house
Leadbeater shared with her then-husband Martin Marangoni.
MacPhee's defence was he made the queries on the police computer files to
ensure his girlfriend didn't have a checkered past that could compromise
both the force and his position as a police officer.
A Kitchener RCMP officer acquitted in June of breach of trust is no longer
a member of the force.
Const. Donald (Gregory) MacPhee was scheduled to appear for an internal
disciplinary hearing on Aug. 27, but the hearing was cancelled, said Sgt.
Mike Mason of the RCMP's internal affairs branch.
While federal privacy legislation prevents him from saying whether MacPhee
has left the force, Mason said, "In general terms, any member who is no
longer an employee of the RCMP is not answerable to the provisions of the
RCMP Act and is not subject to a disciplinary hearing."
Asked if MacPhee is still subject to a disciplinary hearing, Mason said
he's not.
But MacPhee's legal problems are far from over as the Crown is appealing
his acquittal.
In June, Justice Ron Sills acquitted the 26-year police veteran of breach
of trust saying there was no evidence the officer was feeding his
girlfriend confidential police information about a major drug investigation
in which she was a suspect.
The Crown is appealing that acquittal on grounds that the judge made errors
in law in his legal interpretation of breach of trust.
No date has been set for the hearing to be held at the Ontario Court of
Appeal in Toronto.
The 48-year-old officer had been suspended with pay since his arrest in
April 1998.
The breach of trust charge related to allegations that MacPhee made close
to 190 queries on two police computer systems from Nov. 1, 1998, to April
21, 1999, which were not related to his job as a customs and excise officer.
Most of the queries related to Operation Joanna, a major drug investigation
launched by the RCMP in New Brunswick in November 1998.
Some of the names MacPhee queried included his new girlfriend, Donna
Leadbeater, who was a suspect in the drug investigation, and Pierre Daigle,
a high-profile drug dealer who visited the Glace Bay, N.S., house
Leadbeater shared with her then-husband Martin Marangoni.
MacPhee's defence was he made the queries on the police computer files to
ensure his girlfriend didn't have a checkered past that could compromise
both the force and his position as a police officer.
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