Hearing begins for Windsor police officer who allegedly donated to Freedom Convoy
Hearing begins for Windsor police officer who allegedly donated to Freedom Convoy
The police services act hearing for a Windsor Police Officer accused of discreditable conduct began Monday.
Const. Michael Jason Brisco was one of two uniformed officers to face the charge after a leaked list of donors to the cause listed his name.
In an audio clip played for the hearing, Brisco confirms he made the donation - but questioned if it’s within the rights of an officer to protest as a civilian.
Brisco was on unpaid leave when he made the donation by credit card in February 2022 - a leave he was placed on the previous November for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as per Windsor Police Service policy.
Monday’s start to the hearing, which is slated to span three days, saw testimony by Sgt Leah McFadden, with the WPS Professional Standards Branch.
McFadden told the hearing it was Ontario Provincial Police who flagged Brisco’s name on the donor list.
She stated that she was told OPP obtained the list on Feb. 16 from a third party after it was leaked when the GiveSendGo platform was hacked. An investigator was then tasked with looking through the list for any police officers.
Brisco was one of two uniformed Windsor Police Officers to appear, along with a third civilian employee of WPS.
A “Chiefs complaint” was then initiated, and McFadden was tasked with notifying Brisco.
She said she tried to make contact with him by phone twice in the first week of April, but when she didn’t hear back she sent Brisco a notice via Puralator.
Her notes indicate he called her April 12 and they later met for a recorded interview.
In the audio recording, Brisco can be heard confirming that he donated “about $50” to support protestors in Ottawa - though he stopped short of identifying his donation as going to the “Freedom Convoy.”
In the recording he expressed concern that his information had been compromised in the hack of the GiveSendGo website and also asked if a police officer is entitled to protest as a private citizen — to which McFadden could be heard saying yes, so long as that protest is legal in nature.
Through the recording and questioning by the prosecution at Monday’s hearing, McFadden makes clear that the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa was considered illegal as of February 4, when then Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly classifies it as “dangerous and volatile,” and when Ontario Premier Doug ford began characterizing it as an occupation.
Also at that time, Sloly stated funding like that sent through online platforms was enabling “unlawful activities.”
Brisco’s donation came through four days later, on Feb. 8, 2022.
In the recording of his interview with McFadden, Brisco states he believed he had done no wrong as he was supporting a cause he believed in as a private citizen — and that he’d done so based on belief a judge had deemed the protest lawful in judgement granting an injunction limiting the use of horns within Ottawa.
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