A Saskatoon police officer has been found guilty of obstructing justice after a victim’s statement disappeared.
Const. Steven Nelson was found guilty Thursday in Saskatoon Provincial Court.
He was charged last October after a victim’s statement went missing in a domestic violence case he was investigating.
Court heard Nelson took a statement in August 2012 from a woman who claimed she was assaulted. The woman recanted her claim the next day, but the second statement she filed disappeared.
In a recorded phone conversation played in court, Nelson and another officer discussed ripping up the second statement.
Nelson testified he didn’t rip up the statement, but Justice Hugh Harradence said Thursday he didn’t believe the constable’s testimony.
Nelson remembers more than he let on, Harradence concluded.
The judge also questioned the Saskatoon Police Service’s methods.
He described the conversation between the two officers about ripping up the statement as troubling and suggested the practice was routine. He said, however, he is unable to conclude that the problem is systemic and not just an isolated incident.
Saskatoon police said Nelson will remain suspended with pay and that an administrative review will be conducted, but that no decision will be made until after Nelson is sentenced.
Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 4.
