THUNDER BAY — Police sergeants are not dispatched on keep the peace calls, a 911 dispatcher testified on Wednesday during the trial of a Thunder Bay police officer.
Staff Sgt. Michael Dimini, of the Thunder Bay Police Service is charged with breach of trust and obstruction stemming from an incident at a West Frederica Street apartment building in the evening of Nov 24, 2020.
Ricki Parmeter has been a dispatcher for the city’s police service for 13 years and said just two officers were initially sent on a call to keep the peace as an individual attempted to buy back a TV that was stolen from his storage area.
This individual was Clody Marson, who was Dimini’s father in law in November 2020. Marson and one of his daughters had found the TV for sale online and arranged a time and place to pick it up from someone named Derek Turner.
Parmeter told the court the conflict of interest of the familial relationship between Marson and Dimini stood out to her at the time and that she dispatched two officers to the Frederica Street apartment.
She did not dispatch a sergeant to the call.
Two sergeants are on duty during the police service’s night shift — one for the north side of the city and one for the south.
Dimini was the north-side sergeant on duty that evening
One of the dispatched officers recognized Turner’s name and said they would need more units to attend.
Turner was wanted on outstanding warrants at the time.
Parmeter said four officers in total were dispatched and they first met in a parking lot on Brown Street before heading to the apartment on Frederica Street.
Parmeter also testified that 26 seconds after learning Dimini had attended the scene, the dispatcher was informed Turner was in custody.
A transcript of the police radio transmissions from that evening also has one of the officers stating he saw Turner recently in the company of two men from southern Ontario.
During cross-examination by the defence, Parmeter said hearing individuals from southern Ontario are involved in a call can potentially mean they are gang-related.
Defence lawyer Michelle O’Doherty asked Parmeter if it’s normal that officers won’t always announce on the radio when they have arrived at a location. Parmeter said it can happen, but doesn’t occur often.
Parmeter also said having more than two officers attend the call made it a bit of an unusual keep the peace response.
She said a sergeant can attend a call without being dispatched; it’s up to the sergeant’s discretion whether they attend.
O’Doherty also asked if sometimes constables can request a sergeant and if sometimes they call them directly.
Parmeter said that could happen.
Derek Turner Is serving life in prison for second-degree murder for his role in the death of Jordan Lapointe in October 2021.
None of the allegations against Dimini have been proven in court.
He was also charged with two counts of assault stemming from separate incidents. Dimini was found not guilty in both assault trials held earlier this year.
