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Texts with 15-year-old girl at centre of early investigation
into Surrey, B.C. police officer before his death
Officer died by suicide after learning police force was issuing news release about him
Rhianna Schmunk · CBC News ·
Posted: Jul 14, 2023 5:30 AM PDT |
A Surrey Police Service officer is pictured on April 22, 2023. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
A B.C. police officer who died by suicide earlier this year had been under RCMP investigation for inappropriate texts to a teenager he met on the job, including messages asking the girl whether she gets "wild" when she's drunk and asking her to play truth or dare.
The details of the allegations against Cpl. Dilbag "Dylan" Hothi, 26, are laid out for the first time in redacted court documents obtained by CBC News after successfully challenging a court-ordered seal keeping the files from the public.
The officer was arrested and suspended after the investigation began last summer, but never criminally charged and the allegations were never tested in court. The criminal investigation was in its early stages at the time of his death in February.
After his death, the force confirmed Hothi was the same officer suspended from active duty over breach of trust allegations. Upon seeking more information about the case, CBC News learned all court files around his case had been sealed from public view.
A judge ordered redacted versions of the documents should be released after a hearing on Thursday, ruling that the family's privacy concerns were outweighed by the Canadian principle of court openness and transparency.
An investigator with Surrey RCMP laid out the key allegations against Hothi in an affadavit — or sworn statement — signed in November. The document said the case began last August after the teenage girl, then 15, showed Mounties her texts with Hothi.
The girl told investigators she met the police officer when he responded to a call to help her friend a few days earlier, documents said. She said she exchanged numbers with Hothi so she could keep him updated about her friend's whereabouts.
She said she told the officer she was 15 and he told her he was 26.
RCMP vehicles are pictured outside a shooting range in Langley, B.C., on Feb. 8 following the death
of a suspended police officer. (Curtis Kreklau)
The girl told RCMP she initially texted Hothi at his work number but that he later asked her to message him on his personal phone instead.
She said Hothi asked her to meet on two separate occasions over the following days and at one point asked her whether she gets "wild" after drinking alcohol.
"Hothi told [the girl] that he gets 'wild and horny' when he drinks," the document said, citing the teenager's statement to RCMP.
Hothi and the girl eventually made plans to meet around 10 or 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 14. She said he suggested a game of "truth or dare" once they were together in person, but that her texts stopped delivering to Hothi's phone around 10 p.m.
The girl went to Surrey RCMP and showed them the texts that night, the documents said.
Mounties later seized both of Hothi's iPhones. An analyst who examined screenshots in September said the officer and the teenager exchanged 40 texts between Aug. 11 and 12, according to court documents. Another officer who reviewed the screenshots said Hothi sent the girl a photo of himself in sweatpants and a sleeveless shirt.
Investigating Surrey RCMP officers also searched his police notebook but returned it because it didn't contain any evidence, documents said.
Hothi was later arrested and suspended with pay on Aug. 17.
Six months later, on Feb. 8, Hothi died by suicide at an indoor shooting range in Langley, about 50 kilometres southeast of Vancouver. He found out the Surrey Police Service was going to issue a press release about him, court heard on Thursday.
The Surrey Police Service (SPS) declined to comment on the unsealed documents.
Previously, the SPS had said only that Hothi was suspended for an investigation related to breach of trust — a charge that can be brought if investigators believe a police officer committed a crime that violates their duties or position of trust in society.
Surrey RCMP has declined to share details about the investigation and has not confirmed whether Hothi was about to be charged at the time of his death.
The force did not respond to a request for additional comment.
The IIO confirmed the incident took place Wednesday afternoon at a Langley shooting range. (Curtis Kreklau)
Family argues documents not in public interest
During Thursday's hearing to unseal the documents, family lawyer Nathan Lidder argued the documents should stay sealed because the investigation was only in its early stages at the time of Hothi's death. He said the information would negatively affect the officer's surviving family.
Lidder also emphasized Hothi was never charged with any crime and noted the officer no longer has the chance to defend the allegations.
"[The release to the public] would be an affront to the proper administration of justice," Lidder said.
After hearing from lawyers on both sides for roughly an hour and a half, the judge ordered that the documents be unsealed.
"I find the impact to the public purpose of privacy and dignity is outweighed by the principle of court openness," Judge Jay Solomon told the court.
"In my view, the public purpose of openness is better served by releasing the information sought."
Hothi previously served with Surrey RCMP and the Canadian Armed Forces.
B.C.'s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), concluded in March that the RCMP's response to the shooting range was not a factor in Hothi's death.
Canada's Justice System(s) have long been the source of my ire. Some things about it(them) are more resemblant of 3rd world countries than one of the most advanced civilizations in the world. How this educated, lovely, young Inuk woman was treated is just deplorable.
Woman says she was left homeless, targeted by trafficker
after release from Manitoba jail
Jessica LeBlanc was sentenced to just 2 days in jail after spending
11 months waiting for court date
Brittany Greenslade · CBC News ·
Posted: Jul 18, 2023 3:00 AM PDT |
Jessica LeBlanc says she was left vulnerable and a target for traffickers when she was released from jail with nowhere to go. (CBC)
An Inuk woman says she was left vulnerable and became a target for a human trafficker after she was released from prison with nowhere to go. Advocates say it's proof Manitoba's justice system needs an overhaul.
Jessica LeBlanc spent 11 months at the Women's Correctional Centre in Headingley, awaiting her court date, where she was sentenced to just two days for resisting arrest.
She was released on a Friday after 5 p.m. and said there was no transition or release plan made for her.
"They repeatedly release women to nothing," she said. "Just out on the street with a bus ticket."
While in jail, LeBlanc, 29, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was on medication, she said. She left jail with no money, no health card, no prescription for her mental illness and nowhere to safely spend the night.
LeBlanc says she never could have imagined her life would have taken such a turn. (Submitted by Jessica LeBlanc)
"They had not given me the money from the job that I had as a trustee in the jail," she said.
"I had three days of the [medication] that they had provided me in jail, which they had stated was mandatory, and I had the clothing that I was arrested in."
She said she was dropped off with a bus ticket in Unicity that evening and was left to fend for herself.
"It was very concerning that they would release someone so late at night and especially on a weekend, when there's no business hours for any [mental or social] services in the cities," she said.
Homeless shelters were an option but they were already full by the time LeBlanc got downtown.
4 days on the street
She spent the next four days sleeping on the streets.
Within days, she had been picked up by a man who took her to a hotel, where they spent a week before he took her to live in an abandoned home for another three weeks.
She believes he was trying to sell her into the sex trade.
She eventually found a safe space after seeing a St. Boniface Street Links van driving around and calling for help.
They helped her find housing and a part-time job, and she started to get her life back on track.
LeBlanc said she never could have imagined she would end up where she is. She is a university graduate and before the COVID-19 pandemic, she was working and travelling the world.
LeBlanc worked and travelled, here on a trip to France. (Submitted by Jessica LeBlanc)
When the pandemic hit, she got kicked out of her apartment and was couch surfing to stay off the streets.
If it happened to her, it could happen to anyone, she said — and she wants the justice system to change before another woman ends up hurt or dead.
Marion Willis said LeBlanc's story is too common.
"I think about the murdered and missing Indigenous women's files, and when you really think about Jessica's situation and just how vulnerable she was made when she was released, it's not hard to understand how so many women go missing and sometimes meet their demise," Willis said.
LeBlanc was continually failed by a system that should have protected her, she said.
Many of LeBlanc's legal issues happened because she struggled with undiagnosed and untreated schizophrenia, Willis said, but instead of getting treatment in a proper facility after she was diagnosed, LeBlanc remained behind bars.
Marion Willis, executive director of St. Boniface Street Links, says there are not enough resources and supports solely for women. (Randall MacKenzie/CBC)
During those 11 months, no one looked ahead to make sure there would be supports in place for her when she was released, Willis said.
"[She] ends up being made extremely vulnerable by the very system that is charged with upholding the safety and security of all citizens, including Jessica," she said.
Willis said her team has worked with too many people who are left with no plan after they serve their time. Ultimately, it leads to people becoming homeless, living in encampments and often falling back into the wrong crowd and reoffending or becoming targets, she said.
"The system, in the end, often forces the most vulnerable women to seek safety in the most dangerous places and with people that are also dangerous, and that's a big part of Jessica's story. That's shameful," she said.
"The justice system set her up to actually be exploited and to even be killed on the streets, and that's the piece that gets me."
The province would not comment on the specifics of LeBlanc's case, but a spokesperson said Manitoba Corrections staff work closely with inmates on their release plans.
Release plans
The spokesperson said inmates are released from custody with medication to allow for transition to primary care, but Corrections does not provide prescriptions as there is "no longer any ability for the justice system to supervise or provide medical care."
The release plan includes shelter options and support in the community, the spokesperson said in an email.
"This includes working with inmates to get them a Manitoba health card or with another jurisdiction to provide options for a primary card upon release."
However, LeBlanc said that never happened.
The spokesperson added that Manitoba Corrections does not help inmates find housing at a shelter, saying "once they are released they are free. There are other social supports in place but once they are released, they are like every other Manitoban."
That may be theoretical, but Jessica's experience and Marion's experience prove that it is not the reality.
Chilliwack, Abbotsford getting crisis response teams
as part of $3M expansion
Teams pair officers, nurses to offer mental-health assessments, crisis intervention,
and referrals
JENNIFER FEINBERG
Mission City Record
Jul. 17, 2023 12:15 p.m.
Chilliwack and Abbotsford are two of nine new B.C. communities getting crisis-response teams as part of a $3 million expansion of the in-demand program.
“Mobile integrated crisis-response teams” are rolling out in their communities with police officers and health-care professionals working in tandem to address crisis calls.
“We are expanding crisis-response teams across the province to ensure that at their most vulnerable time, people in distress in our communities receive a health-focused response and connections to the services and supports they need,” the minister said.
Crisis-response teams are also coming to Port Coquitlam/Coquitlam, Burnaby, Penticton, Vernon, Squamish, Prince Rupert and the Westshore, in addition to Chilliwack and Abbotsford.
The minister said the province heard from partners, and those with lived experience, that “to know better is to do better” and to recognize that a “law enforcement approach doesn’t work for everyone or in all situations.”
What does a team upon arrival during a mental-health episode? Anything from verbal de-escalation, involving friends or family to support the person in crisis, to referral to other appropriate health providers, all while maintaining safety on-scene.
Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove said the team announced for Chilliwack is “welcome news,” and a “bold” move by the province to “aggressively” take on these challenges.
“Chilliwack has been advocating for this type of service for a few years now, he said. “It falls in line with our community action plan and mental-health efforts.”
The idea is to free up police to focus on crime, dispatching an officer with a health-care expert to respond to police calls with on-site emotional and mental-health assessments, crisis intervention and referrals to appropriate services in the community.
“We have heard from many police departments and health authorities that currently run Mobile Integrated Crisis Response Teams that the programs are extremely helpful – and demand is growing,” said Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and solicitor general.
Expanding these response teams to more communities will help connect “more people in crisis” with the types of supports and services they need.
With communities now poised to get the mobile crisis response teams set up, health authorities and local police will begin planning together to recruit staff and put services in place as quickly as possible.
Tina Baker, registered psychiatric nurse with the Car 67 program said these partnerships between nurses and police officers “are so beneficial to clients during crises because we get to bring our specialized mental-health assessment skills and knowledge right to them.
“We can give 100 per cent of our care and attention to the client, knowing that police are there to keep us and clients safe. I am thrilled more communities will soon have this program.”
The nurse or health care worker provides on-site emotional and mental health assessments, crisis intervention and referrals to appropriate services in the community, while the police officer looks after any safety concerns and makes sure everyone is safe.
Regions with existing teams:
Vancouver Coastal Health: Vancouver (Car 87/88), North Shore (Car 22), Richmond (Fox 80)
Fraser Health: Surrey (Car 67)
Interior Health: Kamloops, Kelowna (Integrated Crisis Response Teams – formerly known as Car 40 in Kamloops and Police and Crisis Team in Kelowna)
Northern Health: Prince George and Fort St. John (Car 60)
Island Health: Victoria (Co-Response Team) and Nanaimo (Car 54).
This is very good news, especially considering the wildly escalating mental illnesses due largely to the wildly escalating use of drugs.
Two more programs are needed in order to return some semblance of sanity to society, and those are specially trained officers to deal with sexually abused children, and an all-out assault on illicit, recreational drugs. These three areas are all interconnected, and to tackle one area without the other is like putting a band-aid on an arterial bleed.
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