Windsor police officer who donated to convoy protest to file appeal

A Windsor police officer who donated $50 to freedom convoy protesters is launching an appeal after being found guilty of discreditable conduct, his lawyer says.

Through a Windsor Police Service disciplinary hearing process, Const. Michael Brisco was ordered last month to work 80 hours unpaid as a penalty. The hours were to be worked on rest days or vacation days, the decision says.

Lawyer Sayeh Hassan, who is representing Brisco in the appeal process, said Brisco believes he had a Charter-protected right to make a donation under the grounds of freedom of expression.

Hassan said her client waited to make the donation until Feb. 8, 2022, a day after the Superior Court of Justice granted an injunction that forbid the honking of horns in Ottawa but didn't make the protest illegal.

"So, he fully believed that the protests were legal and they were peaceful and so he made this donation in support of what the protesters were asking the government to look at," she said.

The protests in Windsor began on Feb. 7.

Hassan said she's in the process of preparing and serving the appeal, which would be heard through the Ontario Civilian Policing Commission. She anticipates it could take five or six months to learn the outcome.

Brisco's name was contained in a database of donors that was made public after the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo was hacked in February.

That is one of the circumstances that Hassan says is part of their case, she says, given the right to freedom from unreasonable search.

But Hassan said that they'll also be arguing there wasn't "clear and cogent evidence" to support the finding that Const. Brisco had committed discreditable conduct.

CBC News has contacted the lawyer who represented the Windsor Police Service during the disciplinary hearings, as well as the police service itself, for comment.

M.P.B. Elbers, who adjudicated the case, recommended a time frame of eight months to complete the 80 extra working hours.

"As a police officer there comes a time when you must take the political issues out of your head when you are making decisions," Elbers wrote in the penalty decision, which was released last month. "You must obey the policies, procedures and directives of the police service which is paying your salary."

Elbers said damage to the reputation of Windsor police and seriousness of the misconduct were among the aggravating factors in his penalty decision. But Elbers also weighed the officer's lack of disciplinary record, the effect on his family and the ability to "reform" him among the mitigating factors.

Brisco's lawyer during the misconduct hearings argued his client did not believe he was a police officer at the time of the donation because he was on unpaid leave due to non-compliance with the Windsor police COVID-19 vaccination policy.

Elbers concluded, however, that Brisco had not been terminated and was still an officer at the time of the donation.