Victoria police misconduct fuels appeal for convicted drug dealer
A man who trafficked drugs in Victoria is trying to overturn his conviction by arguing the police officer who was a key witness at his trial cannot be trusted.
On Wednesday, news broke that charges were stayed in a separate case where three men were accused of trafficking millions of dollars in drugs. Those legal proceedings came to a halt after Crown prosecutors learned one of the officers “may have been involved in corrupt practice,” VicPD said in a news release.
The officer at the centre of both controversies is now-retired Victoria Police Const. Robb Ferris. He has not responded to a request for comment. This story will be updated if a response is received.
Ferris was arrested by the RCMP anti-corruption unit in June of 2020.
An investigation determined “19 findings of misconduct,” substantiating claims that Ferris shared details of investigations and covert operation techniques with his wife, mother and another civilian, according to a B.C. Court of Appeal decision by Justice Joyce DeWitt-Van Oosten.
Prior to Ferris’s arrest and suspension from the department, he was part of VicPD’s Strike Force, which focuses largely on fentanyl and firearms.
“My understanding is that there’s no other files currently before the courts that are being impacted as a result of Const. Ferris’s misconduct,” Victoria police Chief Del Manak said Wednesday.
That’s incorrect. CTV News has confirmed there’s at least one ongoing appeal, in which a drug trafficker is trying to overturn his conviction by questioning Ferris’s credibility.
‘A miscarriage of justice’
Ferris was part of an investigation that led to the 2017 arrest of Horst Schirmer, who was sentenced to six years behind bars for drug trafficking. Schirmer was convicted before Ferris’s alleged misconduct, which occurred between February 2020 and August 2021, DeWitt-Van Oosten wrote.
Schirmer’s lawyer said he has already served his time.
Police found the drugs that led to his conviction while executing a search warrant at a Victoria apartment in early 2017, according to an earlier decision from Dewitt-Van Oosten. A large supply was found in a safe.
The safe was opened by a key that Ferris had found while conducting a warranted search of Schirmer’s bedroom.
“Const. Ferris was the only witness who could link the … key that opened the safe to Mr. Schirmer’s bedroom,” DeWitt-Van Oosten wrote.
The appeal seeks to target the credibility of Ferris’s testimony about when and where he found the key, bolstered by the misconduct allegations that came years after Schirmer’s arrest.
“Mr. Schirmer alleges his conviction was the product of a miscarriage of justice,” his lawyer, Brent Anderson, told CTV News in an email.
“He was convicted largely on the strength of Const. Ferris's testimony. Mr. Schirmer is tendering fresh evidence on appeal that he says would have affected the assessment of Ferris's credibility and therefore the verdict if it had been available at trial.”
The appeal hearing is scheduled for early December.
‘People in jail that may get released’
A CTV News public safety analyst said all cases Ferris worked on are tainted.
“Every case that this officer has touched now, given the allegations against him, will be under a microscope and there’s people in jail that may get released as a result,” Chris Lewis said in an interview on Wednesday.
After Ferris was arrested, VicPD and the RCMP’s anti-corruption unit conducted an audit of all of his files, Manak said.
“I’m confident that was done appropriately,” Manak said.
The police chief said he’s disappointed cases have unravelled as a result of the misconduct.
“The outcome is far less than ideal and … I’m committed to making sure that we don’t make those mistakes again,” he said.
Schirmer’s lawyer said police officers are given extraordinary powers to uphold the law.
“When they engage in misconduct, they shatter the public's trust in the rule of law and in turn the public's confidence in the administration of justice,” Anderson said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
What a U.S. farmworker’s case of bird flu tells us about tracking the infection
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.