Andrew Abbass, who was wrongfully detained by the Newfoundland police in 2015 due to his social media posts, and confined to a psychiatric unit against his will, is still seeking a public hearing eight years later.
He was detained by police after sending a tweet. 8 years later, he's fighting for a public hearing | CBC News | Ariana Kelland:
October 16 -"A man who was illegally detained by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and housed for six days at a psychiatric unit against his will in 2015 is determined to bring his case to a public hearing. But the police officers at the centre of the complaints have gone to court to stop that from happening.
"Andrew Abbass filed public complaints against the now-retired Staff Sgt. Tim Buckle and Const. Joe Smyth in 2017, when new information surfaced during an unrelated police shooting inquiry. After numerous years, reports and appeals, the acting commissioner with the RNC police complaints commission has sent the matter to a public hearing. However, even that is in limbo, as both officers have applied to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador for judicial review.
"'At the end of the day, no one has been found to be fully accountable in any meaningful way,' said Abbass, 42, in a recent interview at his home in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. It's been eight years since the alleged misconduct happened. Both Abbass and an expert in police discipline say the process against the two officers has dragged on far too long and speaks to the need for deep reform on police complaints procedures....
"Abbass first came to the RNC's attention in Corner Brook in 2014, when he attempted to charge then prime minister Stephen Harper and his foreign affairs minister for 'inciting genocide by the state of Israel against the Palestinian people.' Abbass had applied to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador to hear his argument. The federal government issued a response, but a judge ultimately declined to hear the case in 2017....
"Then, on April 5, 2015 — Easter Sunday — Smyth, a member of the premier's security detail, shot and killed Don Dunphy in his home in Mitchell's Brook, about 45 minutes outside St. John's. Dunphy was an injured worker who often strongly criticized the province's workers' compensation system online. Smyth, investigating a tweet sent by Dunphy that was interpreted as a threat, said Dunphy pointed a firearm at him. Abbass saw the two incidents as interconnected examples of government overreach, and made his feelings known on social media the following day....
"Abbass said he heard an interview with the premier on CBC Radio, in which he said there would be a cracking down of social media monitoring in the wake of Dunphy's shooting. He saw that as Davis doubling down, and considered it an affront to free speech. Abbass tweeted: 'How about this, premier of N.L.: I'm going to bring down Confederation and have politicians executed. Ready to have me shot, coward?' The tweet, he admits, was meant to antagonize.... 'I figured they would arrest me.'
"Four RNC officers came to Abbass's home in Corner Brook where he was living with his pregnant girlfriend and detained him under the Mental Health Care and Treatment Act. Despite spending the next six days in the psychiatric ward of the Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook, Abbass was never charged with a crime. Nor was he certified as suffering from any psychiatric condition....
"In the wake of Abbass's arrest, the RCMP got a warrant to search his home over a tweet they viewed as potentially threatening against Stephen Harper. The tweet was sent before the Dunphy shooting, but the Mounties moved in only after he was detained by the RNC. He was charged with uttering threats but it was dropped soon after, at his first court appearance. However, once inside his home, they discovered marijuana and charged Abbass and his pregnant partner with cultivation. Abbass said he used it for medical reasons but didn't have a licence at the time. A judge gave him an absolute discharge."
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/andrew-abbass-rnc-complaints-1.6967702
What happened to Andrew Abbass? An 8-year police complaints odyssey, explained | CBC NL - Newfoundland and Labrador | October 19, 2023:
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