Government tried to keep inmate crash details secret

A CBC News investigation has revealed officials with the Departmentof Justice and Sheriffs Services took steps to keep details of a violent April 2012 sheriff van crash, in which inmates were seriously injured, from public scrutiny.

In a series of department emails in the days following the April 23, 2012 crash, the then head of Sheriff Services states media is on the story now and orders employees to recall or destroy any emailed or hard-copy photos of the crumpled van. She wrote to a colleague, Im trying to put the fear of God into every officer that received the photos.

Im trying to put the fear of God into every officer that received the photos.- MaryLouise Smith, Director of Sheriff Services

That effort to keep records of the crash confidential was only one step in a series of non-transparent decisions.

One or more of the inmates was not wearing aseatbeltwhen the van slid off an icy northern highway and rolled at least three times over a steep embankment. Two inmates claim in lawsuits theyve now filed against the province that they suffered injuries including cracked vertebrae, shattered ribs and a fractured shoulder blade.

Tread Cautiously

On the day of the crash the Department of Justices media relations officer Dave MacLean emails Smith and suggests the department issue a news release. In the note MacLean sayshe thinks the crash will be in the public domain anyway so why not get ahead of it and control the message.

The next day another communications staffer states the decision has been made not to inform the public: Dave and I discussed this earlier today and we dont think there is any need to do a release.

Later CBC News learned of the crash independently and began to make inquiries. Department officials initially shared some details: that there had been an accident, where, how many were involved, how many inmates were still in hospital, that seatbelts were available to passengers. But after that, the information dried up.

What CBC News was really after at that point wasthe government's policyon seat-belting prisoners.

In October 2012 CBC Newssubmitted a request under the New Brunswick Right to Information Act for:

• All records concerning this accident and the subsequent investigation (including the extent and nature of the injuries).
• A record of the procedures to be followed regarding the seat-belting of detainees while being transported (before and after the accident).
• Records of the policy regarding transportation of detainees during weather events (before and after the accident).
• Records of exchanges within the two departments surrounding communications with the media in the weeks following the accident.

The response came back six months later a blanket refusal. The government said because it was being sued no documents could be released.

I think its ridiculous

Sean Moreman is CBCs media lawyer. Hes handled right-to-information challenges for journalists across the country and coordinated the challenge in this case. He says any relevant documents would come out in a trial anyway.

In the normal course of litigation, all parties have to share the documents with one another and I understand here that two of the detainees are suing the province so if they dont already have the documents they will be getting them eventually, said Moreman

After theRTIrequest was rejected, CBC News challenged that decision with an appeal tothe Court of Queens Bench.

Justice Ray French insisted the province did not have the right to claim that every single document related to a file is off-limits. He noted the justice departments list of documents being withheld even included an email sent to the CBC. French ordered provincial lawyers to bring the records to court and explain, one-by-one, the legal grounds on which each would be withheld. The province then conceded,handing the CBC News more than200 pages of correspondence and reports.

Not included in information turned overare policies on seatbelting or on transporting detainees in inclement weather. A justice department employee had earlier said on the witness stand that she couldnt find any such policies among in the department's files.

CBC also asked the nine other provinces for their policies on seat-belting of prisoners and transportation during weather events. All responded within one week.

INTERACTIVE MAP: Inmate tranport policies in Canada

When CBC News asked Justice Minister Troy Lifford for an interview, he declined. The department said in an email to CBC News: As you may be aware, there are legal proceedings currently underway regarding this incident. It would be inappropriate for the Minister to comment while this remains before the courts.

The province has said in its defence in the civil litigation that It was reasonable, in the circumstances prevailing at the time, to operate the vehicle on the highway in order to transport the prisoners.

Emails about photos

Emails about news release

MOBILE LINKS: Emails about photos, Emails about news release