RNC chief says more to Sgt. Tim Buckle investigation than a single phone call
Director of public prosecutions to carry out review of Buckle's actions
The chief of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is cautioning people about making links between a civilian member of the force who was jailed for tipping off suspects in a drug investigation, and a senior officer who gave a heads-up to a now-disgraced fellow officer and was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Chief Bill Janes said critics of the findings of an investigation into Sgt. Tim Buckle should be aware there is more to the case than the now infamous telephone call between Buckle and Sean Kelly.
Kelly is a suspended member of the force who was sentenced to a jail term last week following convictions on charges of misleading police and making an indecent phone call.
"The investigation was much more than that," Janes said of the intercepted phone call in which Buckle gave Kelly a "heads-up" that his cellphone had been linked to an indecent call to a woman in Corner Brook on Oct. 17, 2012.
A transcript of the call also revealed that Buckle told Kelly to "come up with somebody that called that number twice that used your phone."
Kelly was convicted in February of making the indecent call and causing mischief by attempting to pin the crime on a police source.
He was sentenced to 10 months in jail on April 6, but was released hours later on bail, pending an appeal of his sentence.
The RNC carried out a criminal investigation into Buckle's actions after it became aware of the phone call between him and Kelly.
The constabulary assigned a senior officer from St. John's to review the matter, and determined there were no grounds for charges against Buckle.
Janes said the constabulary's legal services branch concurred with the findings of the investigation.
On Wednesday, Janes announced that he has asked the province's director of public prosecutions to review the investigation into Buckle's conduct, despite the fact he had reviewed the case and was satisfied with the "integrity and quality of the investigation."
He acknowledged the decision was based on a complaint from a member of the public, and will be done in the "spirit of openness and transparency" in order to maintain public confidence in the RNC.
"They can do a review of the matter for us, and come back with recommendations, or another legal opinion in relation to the evidence that's been gathered," Janes told Here & Now on Wednesday.
Double standard?
Some have suggested a double standard following the sentencing last month of former civilian RNC staff member Angela Marie McCarthy.
She was handed a jail sentence of nine months for tipping off suspects in a drug investigation. She was charged one year ago.
McCarthy had told two of her cousins that they were being investigated by the RNC-RCMP Combined Forces Drug Unit.
In addition to the jail sentence, McCarthy was also fired from her job as a clerk.
Both Kelly and McCarthy worked at the RNC's Corner Brook detachment.
Janes said "we have to be very careful not to jump to conclusions based on one phone conversation. There needs to be a full investigation, as there was in both cases."
With files from Jeremy Eaton