Labrador man denied long-sought hearing about his detainment for a tweet

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — A Labrador man has lost his bid for a long-sought public hearing about his detainment by police in 2015 at a mental health hospital for a post he made on social media.

Andrew Abbass has alleged for years that his detention by members of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary at a western Newfoundland hospital was illegal, and he has fought for a hearing that would examine the circumstances of his arrest.

In a decision dated Thursday, an adjudicator with the force’s public complaints commission said such a hearing would be “desirable” but ruled that Abbass did not file his complaint soon enough.

“The facts of this case are concerning,” wrote John Whalen, the commission’s chief adjudicator. “The (complainant) alleges that an individual was detained by the state without cause …. There is certainly a public interest in determining what factors led the RNC to the complainant’s door on April 7, 2015.”

But according to legislation governing the provincial police system, Abbass had a six-month window within which to file his complaint, and he did not make the deadline, Whalen concluded.

Whalen’s decision says Abbass was detained by members of the force in April 2015 and kept for six days at the hospital, allegedly because of tweets he wrote in response to a fatal police shooting earlier that month.

“How about this Premier of NL. I’m going to bring down Confederation and have politicians executed,” one of Abbass’s tweets said. “Ready to have me shot, coward?”

In an interview Thursday, Abbass said he didn’t understand what led to his arrest until a public inquiry began in 2017 into the police shooting he had tweeted about. The proceedings revealed that retired Sgt. Tim Buckle texted another officer to report that Abbass had been arrested. “He’s at hospital now,” he wrote. “Loser,” the officer responded. “Yup,” said Buckle.

Abbass had always assumed the provincial justice department had ordered his arrest and officers were “just following orders,” he said Thursday. But when he saw Buckle’s exchange, he became convinced the officers had acted maliciously. As a result, he filed a report to the force’s complaints commission.

While held at the hospital, he was neither diagnosed with any psychiatric conditions nor charged with any criminal offence, Whalen’s decision said.

In 2021, the force investigated the complaint and concluded that Abbass had suffered a “wrongful deprivation” of liberty.

“The circumstances of this case are something one could imagine happening in a police state, but not in a free democratic country which is governed by (a) Charter of Rights,” Edmund Oates, who was deputy chief with the force, wrote in a report. Abbass appealed.

Last year, the force’s acting public complaints commissioner referred Abbass’ complaint for a hearing. Buckle filed an application against the referral, prompting Thursday’s ruling from Whelan.

In an interview, Buckle said he expected a ruling in his favour because it was clear Abbass had filed his complaint too late. He said he has testified publicly that the text exchange about Abbass was inappropriate. He also said he had consulted with his superiors about detaining Abbass, and they expressed no opposition.

“I have never been found to have acted inappropriately, or that the initial detention for an assessment was improper or illegal,” Buckle said.

Abbass said he is frustrated by Whalen’s conclusion, but he hopes there will be an appeal.

“This is part of the course, to be honest — look at how long this has taken,” he said. “This should have been over years ago.”

Abbass said he also filed a complaint with the provincial Human Rights Commission in 2021, which has since been accepted. When he checked on it last year, he was told it was the 33rd complaint in the queue, he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2024.

The Canadian Press