Officer's notetaking questioned

Cornwall Standard Freeholder

06 May 2008

Posted By David Nesseth

Drawing attention to notetaking errors made by Const. Steve Watters was the prosecution's focus at an OPP tribunal Monday, as it continued cross-examination it began in Orillia two weeks ago when the tribunal arranged to meet for videoconference testimony. Const. Watters is alleged to have used unnecessary force against former Moose Creek resident Lisa Smith during an arrest at her home on May 21, 2005, while his partner Const. Peter Grier stood by.

Smith had allegedly damaged mailboxes in the midst of an ongoing neighbourhood feud.

Prosecutor Jodie-Lynn Waddilove walked Const. Watters through his notes and prisoner report pertaining to Smith's detainment at the Long Sault detachment that night.

Waddilove noted time record discrepancies such as Watters writing that Smith was signing her release forms at 9 p.m., then indicating the time she left her custody cell as 9:06 p.m., when she had clearly been released from her cell prior to signing any documents. "I don't know why there's a discrepancy there," Const. Watters said, noting he figures he got the times from clocks that were available to him.

"It's three years ago...," he added.

Watters then speculated he may have written her release time from the cell after Smith had left the station, or 9:06 p.m. could have referred to the time she actually left the station. He wasn't sure.

Waddilove also noted that Watters didn't input Smith's personal property - shoes, keys and a bag - in the incoming property portion of the prisoner report. Those items, Watters said, should have been listed by the officer who lodged smith in the cell, despite the fact he completed and signed off on the rest of the report. Waddilove further challenged the reliability of Watters' notes, pointing out that in more than one instance he referred to Smith's boyfriend by an incorrect first name, which coincidentally matched the name of Grier's eventual lawyer for the tribunal, Peter Chisholm. Watters knew of Peter and got the names mixed up in his mind, he said.

"This is a pretty significant error of a name," Waddilove said. "Is it an error in your notetaking?"

"It's an error in my notetaking on that name," Watters conceded.

Waddilove highlighted that Watters repeated the name error in his duty report, while inputting the information from his notes.

Watters also admitted his physical description of Smith in his notes was less than apt.

"Now that I've seen her more often, I'd say she's taller for sure," he told the tribunal.

When Watters returned to the home of one of the families in the neighbourhood that had problems with Smith, he had the opportunity to hear threatening voicemails left by Smith on the family's answering machine.

Waddilove again questioned the reliability of Watters notes in this instance because of their lack of detail. She indicated that Watters notes simply read, "Listened to messages."

Watters said he planned to have the notes transcribed, as he was considering laying charges, so he didn't feel it was necessary to expand in his notes specifically.

"Would you not want to have a good record of what you were listening to for the first time?" Waddilove asked, pressing Watters on whether he actually listened to the messages on that particular day.

Watters told the tribunal his superiors instructed him not to pursue an investigation into the Smith voicemails because she had filed a complaint against him.

Waddilove asked why he had made no mention of this conversation in his notes, and Watters agreed he should have done so.

"Is it still your belief your notes are accurate and truthful?" Waddilove asked.

"Yes," Watters answered. dnesseth@standard-freeholder.com

Article ID# 1015748