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Calgary Police Const. Jacqueline MacNeil’s authorized troubles are behind her after a prosecutor dropped a cost of legal harassment towards her in Strathmore on Tuesday.
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Crown prosecutor Kaitlyn Perrin informed provincial courtroom choose Karen Crowshoe there was no affordable chance of a conviction.
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Protection legal professional Jim Lutz mentioned exterior courtroom that the fitting name was made.
He mentioned after a correct overview it was clear there was inadequate proof to prosecute his consumer.
“I believe the Crown actually dug into this file and, as unpopular as it’s with the general public, they concluded that there was no affordable probability of conviction,” Lutz mentioned in a ready written assertion. mentioned.
“It is positively a step in the fitting course to get her again into service.”
In July, MacNeil was granted a 12-month conditional discharge after pleading responsible to an unrelated cost of undesirable communications.
That plea adopted an earlier ruling in that case that dropped prices towards MacNeil after she argued earlier than the trial choose that her proper to a good trial was irreparably impaired as a result of a detective’s audio-video interview together with her accuser was by no means revealed, after which unintentionally destroyed.
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Provincial Courtroom Decide Michelle Christopher agreed, however a Courtroom of King’s Bench choose overturned that call in April and despatched her again to proceed her trial.
Decide Rod Jerke discovered Christopher erred by Det. David Keegan’s actions amounted to “unacceptable negligence” when he did not obtain the recorded model of an interview he performed with the complainant.
The recording was transcribed 13 months after the very fact.
Jerke famous that Keegan took notes of the interview, which was disclosed to MacNeil months earlier than the recording was deleted, and the dialogue didn’t take care of the allegations made towards the officer.
MacNeil, who has been with the Calgary Police Service for 16 years, will not be presently on energetic obligation.
KMartin@postmedia.com
Twitter: @KMartinCourts