Published Oct 20, 2023 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 2 minute read
Tamara Lich, far right, and her lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, are seen outside the Ottawa courthouse earlier this week. Photo by Justin Tang /THE CANADIAN PRESS
The trial of two convoy protest organizers was stalled on Friday after the defence demanded more information about a software upgrade that wiped the data from the phones of at least two Ottawa police officers after the protest.
Const. Nicole Bach was set to take the stand for a second day in the criminal trial of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, but the defence has questions for Ottawa police about why her text messages from that period were deleted.
Advertisement 2
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office.Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account.Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office.Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account.Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.
REGISTER TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.
Article content
Article content
Her testimony has been put off until the lawyers get those answers.
She told the court Thursday that she received an email that she was due to upgrade the software on her phone after the protest in early 2022 and didn’t know it would delete all her messages.
She had direct contact with Barber throughout the protest.
The Crown said the defence learned about the potential lost evidence as a result of phone upgrade about a year ago, but the defence said it thought that was only in relation to one officer, Const. Isabelle Cyr.
Cyr, who testified earlier this week, also potentially lost messages due to the software upgrade on her phone.
The defence asked police to disclose the communication instructing Bach and other police officers about the upgrade, but were given a completely redacted five-page document.
The lawyers will need to make a formal request for the unredacted version.
Outside court on Friday, Barber’s lawyer, Diane Magas, said it was too early to tell how important the potential loss could be because “we don’t know exactly everything that’s been lost.”
The lawyers also asked Bach to dig up any emails she sent or received related to the disclosure of evidence in the case.
Advertisement 3
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Magas told the court they received four batches of highly redacted emails. Some portions were blacked out by the Crown because they were deemed irrelevant, while others were redacted by Ottawa police lawyers because they fell under solicitor-client privilege.
Lich and Barber are both charged with mischief and counselling others to commit mischief and intimidation, among other charges, in relation to demonstrations against COVID-19 public-health measures and the Liberal government that gridlocked downtown Ottawa for three weeks in early 2022.
The Crown, defence and Ottawa police lawyers are expected to ague about the redactions when court resumes on Oct. 26.
Related Stories
PSAC thought it had negotiated a great deal with the government on remote work. But since then, little has changed
Canadian military armoured vehicle and truck in the midst of Gaza protest in Montreal
Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed.
Article content
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : OttawaCitizen – https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/lost-police-messages-slow-convoy-protest-organizers-trial
