An Alberta police officer disciplined for speaking at a Freedom Convoy rally has had his suspension without pay overturned by an Edmonton judge who called the punishment “not justifiable.”
Justice James Nelson of Alberta Court of King’s Bench said in his Jan. 3 decision that the “facts and evidence” used to justify the suspension of Edmonton Police Service Staff Sergeant Richard Abbott were muddled.
While noting higher standards for police officers can limit their freedom of expression when compared with ordinary citizens, Nelson said that “we are left, in my view, with factual distinctions that could be drawn from the evidence.” He said the initial ruling had not reflected ”any balancing analysis” of Abbott’s Charter rights. The latest ruling handed down by Nelson was first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.
Abbott had served 26 years with the Edmonton Police Service with no prior disciplinary misconduct. He was promoted to sergeant and later joined the SWAT team as a sniper.
Abbott was suspended without pay from the force in 2022 after delivering a videotaped speech at a Freedom Convoy rally in southern Alberta, alongside Const. Elena Golysheva. Both officers had spoken at a rally on Feb. 12 and a video of their speech was later posted on Facebook.
Then-Edmonton Police Chief Dale McFee said Abbott had breached police service regulations.
“Your conduct of engaging in the political activity of the Freedom Convoy is likely to interfere with and adversely influence decisions you are required to make in the performance of your duties,” he wrote in a notice at the time.
McFee said that Abbot’s actions undermined the ability of the Edmonton Police Service to ensure “proportionate and correct decisions are being made when dealing with protestors so our community is safe and secure.” He said the actions had also created a conflict of interest by using his role as a police officer to further the cause of the protesters.
“By publicly supporting a cause where the activities of this group involve illegal activities, this undermines public confidence that police will behave impartially,” he added.
Abbott successfully argued he had not been at the Coutts protest, but was videotaped at a peaceful protest “miles away” at nearby Milk River, and that he “never used social media in any manner,” and didn’t speak in favour of the Coutts blockade. Abbot said he was opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and was sympathetic to the Freedom Convoy movement.
Nelson ruled that this distinction was significant, and the court overturned Abbott’s suspension. He said the suspension was “unreasonable” because McFee had “misapprehended several critical facts” about the incident.
