The mother of a man who died in police custody in Halifax does not know how much more she can fight after two former special police officers involved in her son’s death were acquitted this week.
Janet Rodgers says she left the courtroom when Judge James Chipman of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court read out her ruling Thursday.
Chipman spoke about the actions of former reservation officials Dan Fraser and Cheryl Gardner has not led to criminal negligence despite the wrong steps.
“I think the decision was wrong,” Rodgers said in an interview.
She said the decision made her worry and feel bad.
Corey Rodgers, who was 41 when he died, was arrested for public intoxication in June 2016. He was brought to police headquarters to sleep.
Officials testified that Rodgers spat on them and they put a hood on his head. The hood was not removed after Rodgers was placed in a cell. He later choked on his own vomit and died.
Janet Rodgers is holding a picture book of her son. She says addicts should not be treated as criminals. (Josh Hoffman / CBC)
Gardner and Fraser did not check on Rodgers every 15 minutes, as required by the policy.
Special police officers in Nova Scotia are not police officers. They are civilians assigned to specialized duties, including the reservation of prisoners.
Fraser and Gardner were originally found guilty in November 2019.
The Court of Appeal of Nova Scotia ordered a new process in early 2021, after defense attorneys argued that justice in the first case was wrong in his instructions to the jury.
Rodgers said she was sure the Crown would find a reason to appeal once the full decision was announced, but said the experience weighed on her.
“I don’t know if I really want to go through another ordeal,” she said. “I didn’t actually have a chance to breathe.”
Legal analysis
Dalhousie University law professor Wayne McKay says it is surprising that special police officers were acquitted after a conviction in the first trial, but there may be several reasons for the change.
“I don’t think it’s completely irrelevant that the first decision is from a jury and the second is from a judge alone,” McKay said.
The fact that special police officers have violated policy and are still being released may seem alarming to the public, he said, but the standard for proving criminal negligence causing death is much higher than that.
“I don’t think the judge is in Chipman’s decision that these people behaved in a perfectly acceptable way,” McKay said. “All he says is that they didn’t behave so badly, given all the facts that they met that high standard.”
McKay says there will probably be a better chance of proving criminal negligence if the matter goes to civil court.
Violations of the code of conduct
Rodgers said he was optimistic about a guilty verdict in the review following a recent decision by the Nova Scotia Police Review Board.
In November, the board ruled that the arrested officers had indeed violated the Nova Scotia police code of conduct when working with Rodgers.
IN complete solution was released this week and shows for the first time how disciplinary officers were.
Justin Murphy and Donna Lee Paris, both Halifax Regional Police officers, were removed without pay for 29 days for neglecting or not caring about Rodgers’ welfare when he was in their custody, according to the ruling.
Murphy was fired without pay for an extra day of discredited behavior as he threw Rodgers’ shoes at him after he was in his cell.
No comment from HRP
“I’d rather see them lose their jobs,” said Janet Rodgers.
HRP declined to comment on the acquittals of Fraser and Gardner and the decision of the Nova Scotia Police Review Council.
The board’s decision also recommended that the police service train officers on signs of extreme intoxication, addiction and de-escalating situations involving people under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
“I want people to realize that alcoholism is a disease. Said Rodgers. “This is not a crime and certainly should not be punished by death.”
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