Police breached the rights of a man arrested with a crossbow near the G20 security fence when they questioned him without giving him a chance to consult a lawyer, a judge has ruled.
“The law makes clear that an investigative detention of that kind gives rise to a right to counsel,” provincial court Justice David Fairgrieve said Wednesday as he excluded all the statements made by Gary McCullough to a police officer who questioned him at the scene.
McCullough, 54, was arrested in downtown Toronto on June 24, 2010, just two days before world leaders met here, after police found a loaded crossbow in his car’s roof carrier.
His defence lawyer had applied to have the statements excluded, insisting his rights were violated. The judge agreed. In addition to excluding McCullough’s statements at the scene, he also excluded any testimony he had already made in court that related to those statements.
The judge also agreed with defence criticisms of Toronto police for continually denying McCullough’s right to counsel while he was held at the Eastern Ave. detention centre for those who were arrested during the G20.
“It was clear that nobody was taking responsibility” for getting McCullough to a lawyer, the judge said. “Nobody did anything.”
Defence lawyer James Carlisle had argued that it was a “systematic” breach.
Carlisle said police at the holding centre told McCullough four times he would be given access to a lawyer, but it didn’t happen until much later despite there being duty counsel on site.
By the time he did get to speak to a lawyer, he had been questioned by at least four officers, Carlisle said.
His arrest days before the G20 summit of world leaders was about to begin garnered international headlines.
While an officer was unloading the crossbow, propane canisters, chainsaw, knife, hatchet and other objects from his roof carrier, another constable started asking McCullough questions.
Const. George Maxwell testified that McCullough told him he possessed the crossbow in case he encountered a neighbour who had broken into his car as it was parked at his Haliburton property.
McCullough, when he testified, gave a different explanation for why he had acquired the crossbow, saying he had purchased it to scare off bears.
Carlisle told reporters after the ruling that he will inform the judge Friday about whether his client will testify again.
When he testified, McCullough explained that after the neighbour at his Haliburton home broke his car’s window, he decided to drive to Toronto to get it fixed because service in the big city is faster than in cottage country.
He loaded the crossbow and other objects of value into the roof rack to keep them away from his neighbour while he was away, he explained.
Source: http://www.thestar.com
“The law makes clear that an investigative detention of that kind gives rise to a right to counsel,” provincial court Justice David Fairgrieve said Wednesday as he excluded all the statements made by Gary McCullough to a police officer who questioned him at the scene.
McCullough, 54, was arrested in downtown Toronto on June 24, 2010, just two days before world leaders met here, after police found a loaded crossbow in his car’s roof carrier.
His defence lawyer had applied to have the statements excluded, insisting his rights were violated. The judge agreed. In addition to excluding McCullough’s statements at the scene, he also excluded any testimony he had already made in court that related to those statements.
The judge also agreed with defence criticisms of Toronto police for continually denying McCullough’s right to counsel while he was held at the Eastern Ave. detention centre for those who were arrested during the G20.
“It was clear that nobody was taking responsibility” for getting McCullough to a lawyer, the judge said. “Nobody did anything.”
Defence lawyer James Carlisle had argued that it was a “systematic” breach.
Carlisle said police at the holding centre told McCullough four times he would be given access to a lawyer, but it didn’t happen until much later despite there being duty counsel on site.
By the time he did get to speak to a lawyer, he had been questioned by at least four officers, Carlisle said.
His arrest days before the G20 summit of world leaders was about to begin garnered international headlines.
While an officer was unloading the crossbow, propane canisters, chainsaw, knife, hatchet and other objects from his roof carrier, another constable started asking McCullough questions.
Const. George Maxwell testified that McCullough told him he possessed the crossbow in case he encountered a neighbour who had broken into his car as it was parked at his Haliburton property.
McCullough, when he testified, gave a different explanation for why he had acquired the crossbow, saying he had purchased it to scare off bears.
Carlisle told reporters after the ruling that he will inform the judge Friday about whether his client will testify again.
When he testified, McCullough explained that after the neighbour at his Haliburton home broke his car’s window, he decided to drive to Toronto to get it fixed because service in the big city is faster than in cottage country.
He loaded the crossbow and other objects of value into the roof rack to keep them away from his neighbour while he was away, he explained.
Source: http://www.thestar.com
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