B.C. OFFICER'S CONDUCT LED TO PROBE

Police believed he befriended criminals, leaked information

A former Vancouver police gang squad officer was investigated by police
because of the belief he had developed close relationships with criminals,
was leaking sensitive police intelligence, protecting his informants from
police action and undermining police investigations, according to search
warrant material released Tuesday.

The previously sealed search warrant material concerning Vancouver police
Constable Murray Phillips was unsealed after The Vancouver Sun won its
appeal Tuesday in the B.C. Court of Appeal.

Phillips made headlines when U.S. court documents alleged the officer
behaved badly during a three-week period in 1998, when Phillips helped two
officers from California track down a U.S. fugitive, James Jordan Priel, who
had an apartment in Vancouver.

The U.S. documents accused Phillips of witholding crucial information when
seeking a search warrant, executing an expired search warrant on a B.C.
telephone company, falling asleep during a search of a suspect's apartment,
using cocaine, and having sex with a prostitute at a karaoke bar to
celebrate his role in cracking the case.

Undercover police, who were investigating the club's ties with Asian
organized crime, observed Phillips cavorting with a prostitute at the bar
before leaving at 3:30 a.m. with the U.S. officers.

An internal investigation began after the U.S. officers returned home. A
search warrant was executed on Phillips' desk on May 29, 1999. Phillips has
repeatedly opposed The Sun's application to access the search warrant and
supporting documents, which had been sealed since 1999.

On Tuesday, B.C. Appeal Court Justice Jo-Ann Prowse, in a unanimous written
ruling, concluded that while Phillips was not charged, he had not
established that the prejudice to him as an innocent person outweighed the
public interest in having access to the edited materials.

Justices Anne Rowles and Mary Saunders agreed with the ruling, which allowed
disclosure of the documents to The Sun.

"We're very pleased with the judgment," said lawyer Rob Anderson, who
represented The Sun during the appeal. The judgment strikes the appropriate
balance between freedom of the press and the open court process, he said.

The unsealed material contains a sworn "information to obtain a search
warrant" by Vancouver police Detective Patrick Fogarty, who stated he
investigated Phillips for obstruction of justice and breach of trust.

The joint investigation of Phillips by members of the Vancouver police
internal investigations section and the Coordinated Law Enforcement Unit was
named Project Trilight.

The Fogarty document said Phillips developed close relationships with
informants, including a man who said he had information about the murder of
a policewoman in Quebec and an officer in Montreal who was killed while
off-duty.

Fogarty said in the heavily-edited document, which had names of informants
and large sections of text blocked out with black felt pen, that he believed
Phillips:

- - Associated with known criminals and did not document or report those
encounters in accordance with Vancouver police department policy;

- - Positioned himself "as a liaison person between his informant/target in
investigations done by other police officers. In doing this, he has
undermined the investigations to the advantage of his friend/informant and
in so doing, he has obstructed justice;"

- - Constantly sought information from other police investigations as to the
status of ongoing investigations. "It is reasonable to believe that
Phillips' purpose is to determine if any investigations are being conducted
against his informants to 'protect them' from any police action;"

- - Allowed criminal informants "to continue their criminal activities without
fulfilling his sworn duties;"

- - Made attempts to have charges dropped against one his informants. Phillips
had contacted a Crown prosecutor for the purpose of having a stay of
proceedings entered against an informant, who was an Asian home invasion
suspect. When the Crown asked Phillips whether he had the approval of his
superiors, he said he had and his bosses had no problem with it. The Crown
"became suspicious and contacted the V.P.D. and found Phillips had lied and
received no such permission to do so;"

- - Falsified an information to obtain a search warrant by presenting
information he knew to be incorrect.

The document states that in August 1996, Detective Ross Pascuzzo, then with
CLEU's Asian crime unit and in charge of the Vancouver police gang squad,
was told by Phillips that he had visited an informant who had a number of
guns.

When Pascuzzo asked Phillips what the man planned to do with the guns,
Phillips said the informant was going to sell them on the streets. "Det.
Pascuzzo was shocked at this response and advised Phillips...to retrieve the
weapons immediately...Phillips did not retrieve those weapons," Fogarty said
in his information to obtain the warrant to search Phillips' desk.

The document suggests in many places -- with the names blacked out -- that
there were many reports involving criminals who said they had someone in the
Vancouver police force who provided information and protection.

One paragraph states: "When they were leaving the courthouse, [name blacked
out] pointed at the V.P.D. station and told [name blacked out] that he used
to have a girl in there that gave them information but she got fired; now we
have a guy named 'Murray' that provides us with information."

Fogarty also cites another overheard conversation where a person said: "I've
got Murray working on it and he's going to let me know who the rat is, 'caus
e he's got connections to the Burnaby RCMP station."

Fogarty cited a case where a man was assaulted by two persons, whose names
are blacked out, who had a big knife and threatened to cut the man's fingers
off. One of the assailants allegedly told the victim: "You shouldn't lie. I
got all the information. I got it all sitting at home. Murray gave me the
information...you ratted out on us. He knows that you're here but you think
he's going to come and save you. No, he's going to talk to you tomorrow."

Another reference to a person whose name was blacked out had provided police
with a videotaped interview about "a police officer named Murray who was
providing police protection for their criminal endeavours," Fogarty said in
the document.

A drug dealer, whose name was blacked out, said: "We are paying off
Vancouver city police members" who apparently provided security and ran
"checks on people."

Fogarty cited a 1998 Burnaby RCMP investigation in which Phillips became
involved -- a reliable informant had told police he saw cocaine and two
machine-guns and two semi-automatic handguns being offered for sale in a
club about 12 hours earlier.

Burnaby RCMP contacted Phillips, who advised he would assist because he knew
the club's layout. Later, Phillips suggested he would go in the club and
"smooth things over with (name blacked out)" so the person wouldn't feel
threatened and the threat of violence would be diffused.

The Burnaby RCMP officers were surprised and a bit apprehensive by the new
plan, but allowed Phillips to do so. The Burnaby officers later "were very
shocked that nothing was found on the premises," Fogarty said in the
document.

The document states that Phillips tried to convince his colleagues that he
used his informants for "bigger stuff" such as drugs and homicides rather
than "little" crimes.

Fogarty recounted how Phillips was spotted on Aug. 28, 1998, in the Tycoon
Club at 604 West Broadway during an undercover project by the Vancouver
police gang squad investigating organized crime connections, illegal
prostitution and liquor infractions on the premises. The karaoke bar was a
known hangout for such Asian gangs as the Big Circle Boys and others.

Phillips was observed at the club, accompanied by an unknown female, between
11 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. "checking for heat" -- police presence, said Fogarty
in the document.

At the time, Phillips was assisting two officers from California. After
hours of drunken partying at the bar, Phillips and the U.S. officers
allegedly left the club with several women and drove away, with Phillips as
a passenger.

An internal investigation involving nine officers began the day after the
U.S. officers returned home. The search of Phillips' desk was executed May
28, 1999. Phillips was suspended that month.

Police apparently wanted to fire Phillips, but he avoided facing a
disciplinary hearing by going on stress leave.

During the unrelated wrongful dismissal trial of former Vancouver police
officer Kim Rossmo, Gary Greer, then deputy chief, testified that the police
department made a secret deal with Phillips, allowing him to use up his sick
leave rather than face disciplinary action.

Senior investigative analyst Bill MacDonald, speaking on behalf of police
complaint commissioner Dirk Ryeneveld, said Ryeneveld knows of no reason why
a hearing into Phillips' behaviour should be reconvened now. He said the
earlier decision to quash the hearing was based on independent legal advice
from a senior lawyer and nothing has changed since that decision was made.

Phillips could not be reached for comment Tuesday. "I think Murray wants his
privacy," said his lawyer, David Butcher.

The lawyer said the RCMP use four-digit numbers for coded informants and
must file reports about information gathered at meetings.

He said informants are assigned to one officer, known as a "handler," and
are given numbers to protect their identities.

"They put their lives in danger just by talking to police," Butcher
explained. "Informants are a necessary part of the criminal justice system."

THE TIMELINE

Aug. 13, 2001: Constable Murray Phillips is placed on medical leave and
faces an internal disciplinary hearing into his behaviour while helping to
bring the killer of a jewellery-store owner in California to justice in
1998. Phillips, who was suspended from the Vancouver police department in
1999, is accused in court documents of executing an expired search warrant
on a B.C. telephone company, of falling asleep during a search of a
suspect's apartment, of using cocaine, and of having having sex with a
prostitute in a local karaoke bar to celebrate his role in cracking the
murder case.

Sept. 1, 2001: The Vancouver police department says it wants to fire
Phillips, but a hearing into his behaviour is not allowed to take place
until he is off medical leave.

Oct. 17, 2001: The B.C. Supreme Court is told that Phillips reached a secret
agreement with the VPD that he would remain on sick leave rather than face
disciplinary action. It was revealed that Phillips would use up his sick
time and then attempt to apply for long-term disability because, according
to police rules, Phillips could not be compelled to testify at a
disciplinary hearing if he were on sick leave.

Oct. 19, 2001: Vancouver police continue to refuse to provide details into
the deal reached with Phillips, saying the department is under legal advice
not to comment on the case because of continuing court proceedings.

Nov. 6, 2001: The office of the B.C. police complaint commissioner announces
that Phillips' case will go to a public hearing. Phillips is accused of
"discreditable conduct, neglect of duty and improper disclosure of police
information."

Jan. 12, 2002: Phillips and his lawyer, Jim Williams, win the right to
appeal a Jan. 11 provincial court decision to allow the release of documents
pertaining to Phillips' alleged behaviour. Earlier, The Vancouver Sun argued
successfully that a search warrant into Phillips' desk and related documents
should be made public. Williams said releasing the documents would be
tantamount to setting free "a genie that can't be put back in a bottle," and
would cause irreparable harm to his client.

Aug. 8, 2002: B.C. Supreme Court Justice Glen Parrett quashes a provincial
court order to unseal the search warrant and related documents. Parrett said
Phillips' right to privacy and his presumption of innocence outweigh the
public's right to know. The material was sealed in 1999.

Sept. 25, 2002: The B.C. police complaints commissioner cancels a public
hearing into whether Phillips used drugs and had sex with a prostitute.
Acting commissioner Benjamin Casson says the public interest would not be
served by carrying on with the hearing, and that, because Phillips is under
the care of a psychiatrist, he is unfit to participate in a hearing.

Nov. 22, 2003: A lawyer for the The Vancouver Sun argues in the B.C. Court
of Appeal that the search warrant into Phillips' behaviour "screams for
public accessibility." The hearing involves two appeals filed by The Sun to
overturn lower court rulings that denied the newspaper access to the search
warrant and supporting documents.

Jan. 13, 2004: The B.C. Court of Appeal grants The Vancouver Sun's appeal,
setting aside a sealing order of search warrant material made by a B.C.
Supreme Court judge. It allows disclosure of an edited version of the
material to the newspaper.

The decision is written by Appeal Court Justice Jo-Ann Prowse, with Justices
Anne Rowles and Mary Saunders agreeing with the ruling.