On Wednesday, RCMP released findings on an investigation of John Francis Dionne, a Linden resident, who was stopped by Airdrie police, but released after kidnapping a 10 year old girl. The officer was not made aware by dispatch that Dionne was of special interest.
Dionne abducted the 10 year old girl from Deerfoot Mall in Calgary, posing as a police officer and accusing her of shoplifting. Dionne was pulled over for a speeding ticket with the girl shortly after, but the officer was not made aware he was flagged as a special interest to police.
Dionne then dropped the girl off unharmed at an Airdrie McDonald’s after being spooked by the stop. Dionne was arrested shortly after and the girl returned safely to her family.
“The RCMP is always evaluating how we deliver police service to Albertans and this review will help us improve the way we do things,” said Superintendent Gary Brine, Officer in Charge of “K” Division Traffic Services. “In this case, the officer did his best given the information he possessed at the time. The review identified a miscommunication issue and the RCMP is committed to making sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The Incident Review determined that a miscommunication occurred between the officer and an Operational Communication Centre (OCC) operator during the traffic stop. The review identified the following information: The officer conducted a vehicle stop for a traffic offence. He utilized the Southern Alberta Operational Communication Centre (SAOCC) to request Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and motor vehicle information. The SAOCC operator completed the required CPIC and vehicle check, and transmitted this information through both the police radio and through a non-priority internal message sent to the officer’s mobile work station. These actions are in accordance with RCMP policy.
The dispatch operator advised the officer that Dionne was flagged as a violent person and of special interest to police. She did not provide the reason for the special interest flag.
The operator believed the officer heard her, and she then sent an internal message to the officer’s mobile workstation with the violent and special interest notes. This message was not flagged as high priority. These actions are not consistent with the Standard Operating Procedures of Operational Communications Centres.
The officer heard only the caution code for violence. He did not hear the OCC’s operator’s special interest caution. As a result, he investigated the only offence he was aware of, which was the speeding offence. These actions are in accordance with RCMP policy.
The officer was signed into the mobile work station and had access to CPIC and the internal messaging system. He was not aware an internal message had been sent to him by the operator. The officer conducted the initial vehicle checks through SAOCC. This information was limited to confirming Dionne as the registered owner. After acquiring documents from Dionne, the officer did not query the driver through SAOCC nor through his mobile work station to confirm the validity of the license. Instead, he relied upon what appeared to be valid documents. These actions are not in accordance with RCMP policy.
The Incident Review recommends a modification to the OCC Standard Operating Procedures to avoid such miscommunication in the future. Specifically, upon notification of V for violence caution that includes a SIP caution, the operator will ensure the SIP message and the details are received by the officer.
As per RCMP policy, the Incident Review was conducted by a Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) from another Alberta detachment.
