ATHABASCA – The first of two investigations into complaints regarding the violation of a local man’s Charter rights has reached a conclusion, providing him some comfort and some vindication that his complaint was partially upheld.
Weak and vulnerable after going through more than five years of cancer treatment which has him doubled over and screaming in pain at times, Athabasca County resident Ricky Nault says the 2019 incident was just another traumatic experience to have to live through.
“You have no idea what this did for my little pumpkin here,” Nault, 57, said, tapping his temple. “I’m by myself here. No mom and dad, no grandparents, no sister, no brother; I'm all by myself here fighting this battle and it's hard. It's hard for me to make the right decisions because of all the diabolical, pathological people that I'm dealing with.”
What started as a call about stolen property in July 2019 ended in a Nov. 9 report from the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) for the RCMP that found Nault's Charter rights were violated by two Athabasca RCMP officers.
"I'm a taxpayer and they're supposed to serve and protect. This is just part of a larger, ongoing investigation," he said, referencing a wrongful arrest complaint against one of the same two officers in this finding. "This was very traumatizing for me; people need to understand that."
The commission, an independent agency formed to impartially review complaints made by the public about RCMP member conduct, is not part of the RCMP and is the next step if a civilian is not satisfied with a response from the RCMP detachment.
The report states on July 4, 2019, Nault, who lives in Mystic Meadows Estates, called 911 to report a fuel tank missing from his property. Several hours later Athabasca RCMP Const. Josh Vincent and Const. Mitchell Northey arrived at Nault’s home to investigate the theft, having just come from responding to a call involving a suspicious death.
“I barely talked to (Vincent) and then Northey took over and that's when he started talking about murder and I didn't know what he meant and that's when I turned around and thought ‘Hey, this is too much for me buddy,’” Nault said in a recent interview with the Athabasca Advocate.
Confused and disturbed by the mention of a homicide, as well as Northey’s insinuation that a random licence plate he noticed on Nault’s property could be stolen and that there was no evidence a fuel tank existed on the property, Nault ended the conversation, went back inside his home, and called 911 to ask the officers to leave, however the officers continued knocking on his door and window for several minutes.
The next day Nault set up a small video recording device in his front window after he noticed the two RCMP members milling about on the other side of the bushes beside his driveway.
The video, which Nault showed to the Advocate, starts with the camera being placed behind the horizontal blinds in such a way it shows Nault’s driveway and the bushes on either side, but it is unclear how long Vincent and Northey were observing the home through the bushes, stepping to the edge of the driveway to peer around the bushes, and walking to the middle of the driveway and back.
“I don’t know what they’re doing out there,” Nault is heard saying. “Diabolical, pathological behaviour.”
Eventually, Northey crossed the driveway, entering onto Nault’s property, going out of camera view. Everything remains silent for almost 10 minutes until Northey starts knocking on the doors and windows, except for Nault speaking on the phone with someone, describing the scene.
“One is just standing there by the trees,” he said. “The other is wandering around. This is happening right now as we speak.”
Finally, about 23 minutes after first entering Nault’s property, knocking several times, and at no time identifying himself or why he is there, Northey can be seen walking back from the right of the camera, across the driveway entrance and past his partner who follows him out of video range.
In the video Nault says, “No, they walked in; they didn’t drive. They walked about two blocks to come to my place and then they hid behind the trees.”
Initially, Nault filed a complaint with the Athabasca detachment and in a May 4, 2020 response from then-Staff Sgt. Paul Gilligan, the detahcment commander did not support the allegations of neglect of duty or improper attitude, but did support the irregularity of procedure allegation of the officers returning July 5.
“There are no notes or reports on file that document their activities or a reason for the officers to have attended your residence that day,” said Gilligan in the letter. “In this instance, I support this allegation and on behalf of the RCMP I apologize for their actions.”
The Nov. 9 report from the CRCC also found insufficient evidence to conclude Northey and Vincent questioned Nault’s integrity, however they did conduct an unauthorized search on his property, and it was inappropriate of them to question him about another matter during the July 4 investigation of the missing fuel tank.
“Constables Northey and Vincent exceeded their authority by remaining on Mr. Nault’s property (July 4) without any legal basis and continuing to knock on his window and door after they had concluded their investigation of Mr. Nault’s criminal complaint and he expressed that he no longer wished to speak to them,” the report said. “The Commission finds that this search was unreasonable and infringed upon Mr. Nault’s section 8 Charter rights. It is also problematic that the RCMP members sought to use their presence on Mr. Nault’s property as an opportunity to question Mr. Nault about other matters.”
Section 8 of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects privacy and the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure and is considered violated if a search or seizure is done in such a way it interferes with a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy.
“The Commission finds that Constable Northey’s and Vincent’s actions in knocking on Mr. Nault’s door and window were unreasonable because their continued presence on Mr. Nault’s property was unauthorized by law.”
The incident July 5 was also deemed an infringement on Nault’s section 8 Charter rights.
“The Commission finds that the actions of the RCMP members in hiding behind the bushes and attending the property for an unknown and undocumented purpose were unreasonable,” the report said. “While it might be justified in some instances for RCMP members to hide and watch a residence from a distance for a legitimate investigative purpose, there is no evidence indicating that there was any such purpose in this case.”
Northey has since resigned from the RCMP, and even though Vincent has transferred to another detachment he will receive guidance specifically dealing with section 8 of the Charter “and how their actions on July 5, 2019, infringed upon that section.”
