Lawyer warns what arrest of senior VPD member could mean

By

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – There are some concerns the arrest this week of a veteran Vancouver Police officer within the force’s Counter Exploitation Unit could jeopardize some of the cases he was investigating, according to one local lawyer.

Detective Constable James Fisher has been formally charged with three counts of sexual exploitation, one count of sexual assault, one count of breach of trust and one count of attempt to obstruct justice following a months-long investigation.

Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says they’ll re-visit the cases Fisher was handling. “What I can say is because he was involved in a number of investigations — that is something that as a result of this investigation we did, we will be looking at it with Crown Counsel and our police detectives and we’ll be seeing if there are any issues of concern.”

A local criminal lawyer feels there’s a chance accused criminals, could go free. “If the evidence the Crown has collected is through this officer, then the Crown is going to have a problem calling their case,” explains Paul Doroshenko who persists ongoing cases could end up getting dropped by Crown Counsel.

Doroshenko says the seniority of the officer could actually be a good thing. “I can’t imagine a guy working at this level is deeply involved as boots on the ground in that many cases — he’s probably involved heavily in two or three significant cases at any given time.”

He expects those will likely get thrown out while defense lawyers will look for any opportunity to open past cases involving Fisher.
Fisher has been released on bail and is expected back in Surrey Provincial Court on January 24th, 2017.

Vancouver Police say they know of two potential victims and are asking anyone with information about this case to call 604.717.0607.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today