THUNDER BAY - “I felt we didn’t have any authority to enter that apartment and subsequently, everything after that was illegal,” testified a Thunder Bay Police Service officer in the trial of one of his colleagues on Friday.
Staff-Sgt. Michael Dimini is charged with breach of trust and obstruction in relation to an incident at a West Frederica Street apartment on Nov. 24, 2020.
Four police officers were dispatched to help keep the peace as Dmini’s then father-in-law had arranged to buy back a TV that had been stolen from his storage area.
The TV had been posted for sale online by a user named Derek Turner. Turner was wanted on outstanding warrants at the time.
On Friday, Const. Kerry Dunning testified he was one of the four officers dispatched to the call and a woman had answered the door and said she didn’t know the TV was stolen and offered to return it.
The officers asked if Turner was in her apartment and she said no.
Dunning said she was cooperative with police and the tone was calm.
One of the other officers brought the TV down to Dimini’s former father-in-law outside of the apartment building and Dunning said Dimini arrived on scene about 10 minutes after the initial four officers had arrived.
Dimini had not announced on the police radio he was attending and Dunning said he was “a little bit shocked because it was (Dimini’s) family.”
Dunning heard the woman ask if police needed a warrant to enter her apartment.
Crown lawyer Vlatko Karadzic asked Dunning if he felt police had lawful grounds to enter her residence and Dunning replied he did not.
“Did you feel you had reasonable grounds to arrest her?” Karadzic asked.
Dunning said no and also said he did not feel the police had reasonable grounds to believe Turner was inside the apartment.
After the woman asked if police needed a warrant, Dunning said he remembers Dimini telling her to get out of the way, they were coming in.
Dunning said Dimini instructed him to arrest the woman for obstruction for lying to the police.
Dunning completed the arrest but testified he didn’t feel he had any grounds to do so.
“I had lots of concerns,” he told the court.
The woman was also charged with possession of stolen property and possession of a controlled substance once at the police station. Adding those charges was Dimini’s decision, said Dunning.
Dunning said these charges concerned him because there were four other people in the apartment and they should have all been charged with possession of a controlled substance.
“They were all there when the drugs were there. I felt they were all party to that,” he said.
Dunning brought his concerns to several other officers, including four sergeants and thought it should have been brought to management’s attention.
He said he was never interviewed about it until the OPP was conducting its own investigation into the Thunder Bay Police Service.
Dunning also received a request from the Crown attorney’s office asking under what lawful authority police entered the apartment and Dunning said he directed them to Dimni, whose decision it was to enter the residence.
During cross-examination, defence lawyer Mark Ertel asked Dunning if, generally, another police officer says they have grounds to do something, is he entitled to rely on that other officer’s word.
Dunning said yes and he also said he was hoping Dimini had grounds to enter the apartment.
Ertel also asked what an officer would need to arrest someone for possession of stolen property.
“If you know they have stolen property in their hands, can you arrest them?” asked Ertel.
“Yes,” said Dunning.
“Even if they say they didn’t know, could you still arrest them?” Ertel asked.
When asked why he didn’t think there were grounds to arrest the woman for possession of stolen property, Dunning said she provided the TV to the police, said she didn’t know it was stolen and he wanted to give her the opportunity to tell her side of the story.
All charges against the woman were withdrawn and she has no criminal record.
None of the charges against Dimini have been proven in court.
The trial is set to continue on Monday.
