Supreme Court orders Edmonton police to disclose officer misconduct records

Canada's Supreme Court has unanimously rejected the Edmonton Police Service's bid to withhold officer misconduct records from criminal defendants, ruling that an accused's right to full answer and defence outweighs police privacy concerns.

The decision came in the case of Edmonton Police v. John McKee, a man charged in 2022 with drug and weapons offences. During pre-trial proceedings, McKee's legal team learned the lead detective had disciplinary records relevant to his defence. While the Crown agreed the records were relevant, Edmonton police refused to hand them over, claiming the misconduct had been removed from the officer's file after a period of good behaviour.

Justice Sheilah Martin wrote for the seven-judge panel that "the police must meaningfully participate in the disclosure process by identifying and transmitting relevant information to the Crown, including investigative and disciplinary material." She added: "The administrative removal of a record of police misconduct from a police officer's record of discipline does not alter the legal regime under which its disclosure is determined in criminal proceedings."

Edmonton police had argued that requiring disclosure of "expunged" files would undermine officer privacy rights and cause the justice system to "collapse under the impossibility of the Crown's disclosure obligations." The court disagreed. "Police cannot unilaterally withhold relevant information from first party disclosure based on their assessment of their privacy interests," Martin wrote.