Supreme Court affirms Calgary man’s convictions despite police officer’s mistake

The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a man’s convictions on firearm and drug charges even though his arrest in Calgary six years ago violated his charter rights.

In a ruling Thursday, the high court says that although police made a mistake, excluding the evidence in Sokha Tim’s case would ultimately harm the reputation of the criminal justice system.

After Tim crashed his car, a police officer noticed a small bag in the vehicle containing a single yellow gabapentin pill–a substance the officer mistakenly believed to be an illegal drug, while Tim tried to sweep the bag out of sight.

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The officer immediately arrested Tim, and subsequent searches of the car and the suspect turned up fentanyl, a loaded firearm and ammunition.

At trial, Tim tried to have the evidence excluded on the basis he had been improperly arrested, given that gabapentin was a legal prescription drug.

The trial judge found the arrest and subsequent searches to be lawful and Tim was convicted of five offences, a decision upheld by a majority of the Alberta Court of Appeal.