Former Nunavut RCMP relief officer's trial halts over evidence issue

The trial of an RCMP officer came to a halt on Friday in Iqaluit, shortly after the Crown closed its case. 

After delaying court for 40 minutes, lawyers in the trial of former Nunavut RCMP relief officer Luke Tomkinson, said they couldn't agree on whether certain evidence could be submitted, and asked Justice Christian Lyons to pause the trial and hold a voir dire to decide whether the evidence can be used.

Tomkinson is charged with assault with a weapon and uttering threats, in connection with an incident in Arctic Bay in 2020. 

At the centre of the issue is whether two of Tomkinson's police reports can be used as evidence in cross-examination. 

The reports include a subject behaviour/officer response reports, or SBOR, which is filled out any time an officer displays a weapon or uses force; and a supplementary occurrence report, which is police notes on the incident. 

Defence lawyer David Butcher said he will argue, among other things, that the Crown should not be allowed to use them because doing so would violate Tomkinson's Charter rights. 

He also noted policies around SBOR reports and when they need to be completed were different at the time of the incident than today.

Crown lawyer Yoni Rahamim also said he needs time to compile disclosure that the defence is requesting. 

"We've hit a bit of a snag here in terms of the timing and the efficient flow of this trial," Rahamim said. 

Butcher noted there is some case law in Canada about using supplementary occurrence reports as evidence, but less on the SBOR reports. 

"There is a body of case law, but it is not definitive," Butcher said. 

Butcher also noted that Tomkinson wasn't under investigation when he completed the reports. 

He also wasn't criminally charged until a public complaint was made against him. 

Justice Christian Lyons called the decision to delay the trial "regrettable," but said the issue is an important one to discuss before going further. 

Butcher said the issue had "bubbled" before the proceedings and "crystallized during the trial."

A court date for the void dire will be set on Oct. 30 in Iqaluit assignment court.