An experienced police officer of the Sûreté du Québec de Montmagny was recently sentenced to prison in the community for serious faults committed in his work as an investigator, he who in particular threw proof to the trash or closed a file by justifying his decision by a false meeting with a prosecutor.
Ghislain Dorion was suspended by the Sûreté du Québec in June 2021.
The policeman then had 30 years of experience within the police force.
However, he acknowledged having committed faults in five distinct cases between 2010 and 2021, some of his gestures having even led to stopping procedures in criminal files.
Last April, the court sentenced him to an imprisonment in the nine -month community for two charges. Dorion had pleaded guilty to these two criminal charges rarely brought against someone, either prevarication leaders. The Quebec and Canadian law dictionary describes the accusation as a “serious breach of its obligations committed by a civil servant or the holder of a public office”.
The policeman’s lawyer, Me Charles Levasseur, had pleaded for obtaining an absolution for his client, but judge Pierre Lortie underlines in his decision that such a measure would have had a detrimental effect in the eye of the public.
“A condemnation is necessary in the light of the circumstances of the case and the maintenance of public confidence in the judicial system,” writes the magistrate in his decision, first reported by The press.
Hidden or thrown proof
The investigator Dorion was initially targeted by 18 counts, but the facilitation process held between the parties led to a guilt on two chiefs bringing together five events in total.
The policeman in particular hidden proof in a file, before ending up throwing it to the trash when he was questioned by a superior. In another case, he told his bosses that he did not have to deal with photos, since a prosecutor of the crown would have told him that “it was not relevant”, when the lawyer in question had never been contacted by Dorion.
In a story of fraud, the policeman repeated to a colleague of investigations that a witness refused to collaborate and submit a report. When the investigator joined this person, she assured that she had never had requests from Ghislain Dorion.
He also admitted that he authorized the release of a truck involved in a collision without the authorization of the director of criminal and criminal proceedings (DPCP), which led to a stop of the procedures in the criminal negligence file causing death, the defense not having had the possibility of countering the vehicle.
Finally, Dorion also admitted to having closed a file indicating that the decision came from the DPCP, without having consulted its superiors. In addition, the complainant had never been notified by the faulty policeman either.
“Above the directives”
The summary of the facts produced as part of Ghislain Dorion’s guilt advocates specifies that the 59 -year -old man “never intended […] to hinder, divert or thwart the course of justice ”.
However, the presented report made argues that it is “unlikely” that the faults fall under errors or oversights by “lack of control of the situation”.
The agent considers rather that Dorion “allowed himself to position himself above the directives, laws, his superiors and his work partners” because he considered himself “particularly competent and confident”.
The report also argues that the policeman continues today to minimize his gestures, arguing that he was the target of a supervisory campaign. He also evokes a work overload to explain his delicual actions.
In recent years, Ghislain Dorion has been involved in a project of residence for the elderly, in addition to getting involved in real estate and catering.