Tribunal agrees to hear appeal of police officer's conviction for convoy donation

A police disciplinary tribunal will hear an appeal in the case of a Windsor officer who was found guilty of discreditable conduct over a $50 donation to convoy protesters last year.

According to a group representing Const. Michael Brisco, the Ontario Civilian Police Commission agreed Tuesday to hear the challenge.

In May, Brisco was ordered to work 80 hours unpaid as a penalty for his donation to the 2022 convoy protest.

Brisco's name was found in a database of donors made public after the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo was hacked.

The fact that the information about Brisco's donation stems from an illegal leak is one of the grounds on which Brisco's counsel will be arguing against the conviction, a media release from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms says.

Brisco has said that the donation was in support of the Ottawa protest only, which he believed was legal at the time due to an injunction that banned the use of horns, but affirmed that "peaceful, lawful and safe protest" was otherwise permitted.

The donation was made on Feb. 8, 2022. Protests at Windsor's Ambassador Bridge started the previous evening.

Counsel for Brisco also plans to argue the case on the grounds of freedom of expression, the justice centre says.

"Police officers are also entitled to express their political beliefs, so long as they do it without identifying themselves as police," Darren Leung, one of Brisco's lawyers, said in a media release.

"Furthermore, it is an injustice that Const. Brisco was investigated on the basis of illegally obtained information. Instead of investigating who was responsible for the hack, the Windsor Police Service have dedicated their resources in prosecuting Const. Brisco."