RCMP evidence burned; trucker walks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/06/2010 (5834 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Evidence that was purposefully destroyed by a retired RCMP officer has led to all charges being dropped against Ontario-based semi-truck driver Martin Cloutier.

Crown Attorney Rich Lonstrup submitted an application for a judicial stay of proceedings based on findings revealed in a Brandon courtroom on Tuesday, the second day of Cloutier’s trial.

Rural Municipality of Whitehead Police Service Chief Const. Doug Gormley testified yesterday that he was one month away from retiring from his 32-year career when, on March 1, 2007, a Greyhound bus travelling eastbound struck the rear of Cloutier’s semi flatbed trailer about 10 kilometres east of Brandon on the Trans-Canada Highway.

The day before the collision, a storm had dumped 22 cm of snow on Brandon, and the highway at the crash site was still icy and snow-covered.

Gormley was among the first on the scene of the collision and proceeded with the investigation as the RCMP’s lead traffic collision analyst.

During questioning, Gormley said he was unsure as to the extent of the notes he took regarding details of the collision.

Because he was one month away from retirement however, he passed the still-active case onto a neighbouring traffic collision analyst more than two weeks after the collision occurred.

Then, according to what Gormley says was "common practice of RCMP," he destroyed "two suitcases" filled with notebooks that contained every note he had taken on every case since April 1, 1975 until April 1, 2007; including the notes he may or may not have taken at the scene on March 1.

"I have a firepit in my backyard," Gormley testified when Lonstrup asked him how he destroyed the notebooks. "RCMP doesn’t want the notes being used for anything other than intended for."

Between 15 and 20 additional documents integral to the RCMP investigation that were previously not disclosed to the courts were also brought forward by RCMP yesterday — some of which included pertinent witness information.

Following a brief adjournment, Lonstrup confirmed that Gormley’s actions weren’t in compliance with RCMP record retention rules and that the evidence destroyed was relevant to the trial. The loss of evidence, therefore, impacted the right of the accused to a fair trial.

"(A) stay (of proceedings) is the only appropriate and applicable proceeding from here," Lonstrup said.

Cloutier faced careless driving and false statement charges under the Highway Traffic Act. The bus driver, Barry Lounsbury, survived the crash, but had to have his right leg amputated above the knee due to his injuries, while a dozen passengers on the bus suffered minor cuts and bruises.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta told Cloutier to move on and take what he could from the experience.

"I’m sure it was a life-changing experience for you … a number of people involved will have walked away having learned some lessons," she said.

Cloutier has been working as a semi-driver since the incident. Outside the courtroom, he told the Sun that he’s happy to finally be getting on with his life.

"It has been dragging on and dragging on," he said. "Before today, I was just anxious for it all to be over."