‘Freedom Convoy’ trial: Judge orders access to internal police docs for review

globalnews.ca:

Freedom Convoy” protest organizers has ordered access to internal police documents so that she can determine whether they should be admitted as evidence.Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said she must review unredacted copies of police communications to determine whether they are protected by solicitor-client privilege, and also whether they are relevant to assessing the credibility of police liaison witnesses.Defence lawyers for Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, who are on trial for their role in the massive demonstration against COVID-19 public-health measures in early 2022, have asked to see emails that show what evidence police officers were asked to hand over as part of the case.They also want to see any instructions given to officers about updating the software on their cellphones when the protest ended, as the judge said that update deleted messages between Barber and Ottawa police Const. Nicole Bach, considered a primary contact of Barber.Const.

Isabelle Cyr, another police liaison during the convoy who testified earlier in the trial, also lost communication records in an update to her work phone, said Perkins-McVey.The judge said “it is very unusual” for two testifying officers to lose information relevant to a criminal case.The defence had received only heavily redacted documents in response to their request, with the Crown and Ottawa police saying the only information omitted was irrelevant or protected by solicitor-client privilege.Ottawa police Sgt. Jordan Blonde, who described himself as a “secondary” contact for Barber, was back on the stand on Tuesday answering prosecutors’ questions.But defence lawyers said they will not be able to complete their cross-examination until the judge rules on the admissibility of