RCMP officers felt threatened, judge hears at trial of reporter
RCMP allege man was yelling, leaning into van to take photo; proceedings continue in September
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, June 24, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Yellowknifer reporter was yelling and swearing last summer while taking photos of police officers who were searching a van on a street downtown, which drew a crowd and made them feel unsafe, RCMP members said at the man's trial Wednesday.
Yellowknifer reporter John McFadden stands outside the Yellowknife courthouse Wednesday during a break in his trial on a charge of obstructing a police officer. The trial has been adjourned until Sept. 1. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
John McFadden was charged with obstructing a police officer July 5 on 49 Street beside Shoppers Drug Mart. He covered police and court for the newspaper at the time.
The trial before territorial court Judge Garth Malakoe began Wednesday with Crown prosecutor Annie Piche calling three RCMP officers to testify.
Const. Christoper Watson said he and three other officers were searching the cargo van with stolen Alberta licence plates for the vehicle's registration documents. As they searched, McFadden approached from the area of The Black Knight Pub.
"He appeared hot and bothered, like he had been drinking," said Const. Christopher Hipolito, who told the reporter standing about six to 10 feet away to move.
Defence lawyer Peter Harte said there is another side to the story.
"The defence evidence will be that alcohol is much less significant than the Crown version of events seemed to be but even on the basis of the first officer's testimony, John was not obviously impaired," Harte said in an interview.
Hipolito said he didn't know McFadden was a reporter, although Watson did. McFadden allegedly began yelling that he could walk where he wanted, prompting Hipolito to say he could be charged with disturbing the peace.
The lights on the RCMP vehicles were on and the yelling began attracting a crowd, officers testified. Some in the crowd began "chirping" the officers, Hipolito said.
Watson said people were making anti-police statements.
The officers said the crowd was between 15 to 20 people.
People were coming out of the Elks Lodge and Black Knight, and were on the street "all around us," Hipolito said.
However, about 20 photos taken over three minutes and 25 seconds by McFadden entered into evidence as Exhibit A show only a handful of people.
Asked about the discrepancy by defence lawyer Peter Harte, Watson said most of the crowd was around the corner of Shoppers, out of view.
After being told to move to the sidewalk, court heard McFadden walked away before returning with a camera.
Watson told him to move off the street when he started taking photos. By talking to McFadden, Watson said the police investigation was obstructed twice.
Harte asked Watson whether they could have just ignored McFadden.
"It's a huge officer safety liability to have an angry man with a camera in the area when you're trying to work," Watson said.
Const. Kevin Sales testified he arrested McFadden after the reporter leaned into the open doors of the van and took a photo.
Sales said he looked at the photos on the camera and later removed the memory card to download the final photo.
"I found the photo that appears to show that the camera was in the vehicle," Sales said.
None of the officers said McFadden entered or touched the inside of the van, although Sales said he was worried because he could have dropped something in the van or removed something.
As the testimony and cross examination of the three went on, inconsistencies popped up in their accounting of events, such as the size of camera McFadden used, the timeline of events, which officer parked their vehicle where and when McFadden was transported back to the RCMP detachment.
The first day of the trial was covered by almost every media outlet in the city and drew interest from the public as well as lawyers and Crown prosecutors, some of whom watched parts of the trial.
McFadden's arrest came three months after he was barred from an RCMP news conference for what was described by an RCMP spokesperson as a "disrespectful tone" in an e-mail subsequently published online.
The trial continues Sept. 1 when the final Crown witness, Sales, is available to finish his testimony. Harte made statements suggesting McFadden will take the stand to testify in his own defence.
