Lawsuit filed against Lethbridge Police by MLA Shannon Phillips

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MLA Shannon Phillips’ rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms were allegedly violated by members of the Lethbridge Police Service through illegal searches of police databases, and a $400,000 lawsuit was claimed.

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A lawsuit filed in Lethbridge Court at King’s Bench this week says Phillips suffered damage, including reputational damage, as a result of the actions of at least three police officers and one civilian employee.

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Phillips allegedly noticed officers searching her name when she received the results of her Freedom of Information and Privacy Request on December 6, 2020.

“Philips will not be liable, intentionally or negligently, to any legal, personal, It caused psychological and emotional harm,” a claim filed by Calgary attorney Michael Bates.

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The lawsuit names three officers, a civilian employee, and former police chief Robert Davis for failing to properly supervise staff.

Current chief Shahin Mehdizadeh is also named as a defendant as the current military representative.

The allegation also cites Jane and John Doe as other officers who may have violated Phillips’ privacy unknown to the plaintiffs.

The New Democratic Party MLA, who was the environment minister at the time of the raid, said the lawsuit took place between January 9 and November 29, 2018.

The defendants are said to have searched police files from 2013, 2015 and 2016, with Phillips being a witness in the first file and plaintiff in the latter two files.

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Three constables, Joel Odolski, Derek Liddell, and Ross Bond, and civilian employee Allison Dunsmore, said, “All such conduct was hidden from Phillips, so that only one or more defendants could used the information for purposes other than law enforcement that we know of.”

“Phillips first learned of .

The lawsuit alleges that all four violated criminal law, including charges of “fraud or breach of trust by a public official.”

In addition to the loss of reputation, Phillips has suffered pain and suffering, violations of parliamentary privilege, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and “cannot believe her personal information is safely in the hands of law enforcement.” I experienced that.

The claim seeks general damages of $300,000, aggravated damages of $50,000, plus $50,000 for breach of Phillips’ Articles of Incorporation, and unspecified punitive damages against individual defendants.

No statement of defense has been filed challenging the unproven allegations in the statement of claim.

KMartin@postmedia.com
twitter: @KMartinCourts