Calgary officer accused of indecent act sees charges dropped on Day 1 of trial

A former Calgary police officer who was accused of masturbating during a massage appointment has seen his criminal charges dropped on what was supposed to be his first day of trial.

Last July, constable Daryn Emmett was charged with committing an indecent act.

Emmett has a controversial history with the Calgary Police Service, having been assigned to work with children after he was disciplined for on-the-job sexually deviant behaviour against a vulnerable woman. 

On Monday, his lawyer, Shamsher Kothari, confirmed his client's charges were withdrawn. 

"I am obviously happy with the outcome of this matter," said Kothari. "When experienced Crown attorneys exercise their discretion to end a prosecution, it is not done lightly. This was the correct decision."

The Crown did not provide a reason for the withdrawn charges in court and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Emmett no longer works for CPS

The Calgary Police Service says Emmett is no longer an employee. 

In 2017, Emmett pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct and insubordination for offences that took place over a four-month period in 2015.

According to the 10-page disciplinary decision, the officer used CPS social media accounts to send sexually explicit messages and photos to a woman who was known to police and who suffers from mental health issues. 

During that time, Emmett was in the public affairs and media relations unit, which had access to the service's social media accounts.

Some of the photos of Emmett were taken at police facilities and some messages were sent while he was on the clock, according to the disciplinary decision.

Emmett admitted he had sent messages through the CPS Facebook account to a woman whom CBC News has identified as AC.

In the course of the professional standards investigation, AC handed over 339 pages of online communications with Emmett. 

One message quoted in the disciplinary decision reads:

"You're 35, yes … you're in your sexual prime … Mid 30s, how do you survive on your own without physical I mean.…"

In his decision, the presiding officer, retired superintendent Paul Manuel, described the messages as "pornographic, erotic, obscene and lewd."

Ultimately, a three-year reprimand was issued and attached to Emmett's personnel file.

After that, he was sent to work at YouthLink, the police service's interpretive centre for children, sources confirmed.