Ontario Provincial Police Block

BARRIE — OPP Const. Kara Darnley’s phony new partner not only recorded her every word as part of an undercover integrity test, she pushed her to fail it, her lawyer says.

Undercover police conducted about 600 hours of surveillance, including some 480 hours of audio recordings, on the Wasaga Beach officer as part of what they called an “integrity play.”

In a video played for the jury, Darnley appears to peek at documents that were deliberately planted near a hidden camera. The documents were fake and alleged her fiance’s friends were under investigation for drug trafficking.

Police wanted to see what Darnley would do because they were concerned about her reliability.

She’s on trial for breach of trust and obstruction of justice for allegedly photographing the documents with her cellphone and then showing them to her fiance.

But her lawyer insists the undercover cop who pretended to be her friend “guided and lured” her client to do so.

The undercover operation enlisted OPP officer Heidi Fisher, who worked intelligence, to befriend Darnley and wear a wire to secretly record her for three months while they worked together as partners in the spring of 2012.

“We bonded right away,” Fisher told the jury.

In the clip, Darnley appears startled when she sees a box with the names of three of her fiance’s friends in bold black letters sitting on a desk at the detachment office.

“Take a look. I’ll be lookout,” Fisher tells her as she stands at the doorway.

“Keep looking, we’re good,” she later says.

“I suggest you are instructing — directing her — to continue in this activity,” lawyer Angela McLeod told Fisher on the witness stand.

“No, she was already looking,” Fisher said.

In subsequent audio recordings played for the jury, Darnley sounds upset and struggles over whether to tell her fiance about the investigation.

“If I tell him, he might tell them, and that’s not good,” Darnley says.

“You can’t not tell him,” Fisher tells her.

“I suggest you are trying to guide her into sharing that information with her fiance,” McLeod said to Fisher in court. “It’s you who is pushing her to speak to him.”

“No, I was lending my support. I was trying to support her,” Fisher answered.

In the recording, Darnley says she’s upset the friends are involved with drugs.

“I told him to stay away from them,” she says.

On another recording, Fisher is at Darnley’s apartment and she says Darnley can be heard showing her fiance the documents and warns him to stay away from the friends.

But he says he doesn’t believe they’re involved in drug trafficking.

“No way. There is no way.”

The trial continues.

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/04/08/of ... awyer-says

http://myinforms.com/en-ca/a/29885578-l ... -offences/

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2016/0 ... t-offences

The courts have denied an application by a Huronia West OPP officer facing several charges to have those charges severed into two separate trials.

Kara Darnley was charged in 2012 with three counts of breach of trust, one count of obstructing justice, a count of theft, and a count of possession of stolen property.

In June, a Superior Court judge heard arguments from Darnley’s lawyer to separate the second and third counts of breach of trust from the first count, and the charge of obstructing justice.

Insp. Charles Young of the OPP’s professional standards branch confirmed that Darnley will be facing charges under the Police Act, pending the completion of her criminal matters.

Darnley was suspended from duty with pay at the time of her arrest in 2012, and Young confirmed that has not changed.

Darnley, 32, is accused of sharing investigative information with her boyfriend, as well as sharing witness statements in relation to a criminal court proceeding with other witnesses.

She has also been accused of stealing four OPP-marked police T-shirts from the local detachment.

During a June 8 hearing, Darnley’s lawyer, A.L. MacLeod, argued the circumstances surrounding the breach of trust and obstruction of justice from the two other charges of breach of trust “are not sufficiently similar in character.”

However, noted Honourable Justice Guy P. Di Tomaso in his ruling, all four counts flow from Darnley’s work as a police officer, and all relate to her boyfriend.

“I agree with the submissions of the Crown that the factual nexus relates to the same motive: to shield Ms. Darnley and those around her from exposure to the justice system,” Justice Di Tomaso wrote in his ruling released on June 11.

A judicial pre-trial in Darnley’s matter will continue on Aug. 27. A trial by jury is scheduled for the end of February, and is anticipated to last seven-to-10 days.

http://m.simcoe.com/news-story/5711202- ... on-charges

BARRIE - It doesn’t matter that Wasaga Beach OPP Const. Kara Darnley was duped by her boss into thinking her fiance’s friends were drug dealers.

What matters, the Crown says, is that she took the phony police information that she believed was confidential and showed it to him.

“She did it to protect herself and her boyfriend,” Crown attorney Jason Nicol told the jury Tuesday. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Darnley pleaded not guilty to breach of trust and obstructing justice for copying and sharing the documents back in the spring of 2012.

She was the subject of an undercover sting, called an “integrity play,” that included 680 hours of surveillance. The sting was set up because her boss was concerned about her integrity after she printed witness statements in a domestic case without authorization.

As part of the integrity play, police pointed a hidden camera in the detachment office on a bright yellow folder marked “confidential” that stated in big, black letters that her fiance’s friends, including the man set to be best man at their wedding, were suspected drug dealers.

Darnley was shocked and frightened when she noticed the documents, an undercover female officer who befriended her testified.

“What should I do? ... I can’t not tell him,” she tells the officer, who followed Darnley around wearing a wire for three months.

On a different recording played in court, Darnley is heard demanding her fiance stay away from the friends because police have them under surveillance, and she warns him never to tell his pals.

“It’s not important that the information wasn’t true — Kara Darnley believed it to be true,” the Crown said. “Can you imagine the mayhem if police officers violated confidentiality and secrecy merely because it involved loved ones or a friend?”

But defence lawyer Angela McLeod told the jury “there is no question” Darnley had only good intentions.

“Police officers are allowed to make mistakes if their intentions are pure,” McLeod said. “Her only intent was to protect the integrity of her position as a police officer by ensuring her fiance discontinued his association with suspected drug dealers.”

McLeod also suggested the undercover officer “encouraged” and “directed” Darnley to share the information with her fiance.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations Wednesday.

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/04/12/du ... iend-crown

BARRIE - A Wasaga Beach OPP officer once dubbed “Canada’s Hot Cop” wept in court Wednesday after a jury found her guilty of breach of trust.

“It’s very disheartening,” said Const. Kara Darnley, as she stood outside of court with her mother and father. “This has been going on for four years.”

Court heard Darnley, who was acquitted of an obstructing justice charge, copied documents that stated her fiance’s friends were under surveillance for drug trafficking, then told him about it.

Unknown to Darnley at the time, the documents were fake and deliberately planted near a hidden camera in a police station office where she would find them. The scheme, which investigators called an “integrity play,” involved 680 hours of undercover surveillance to test her mettle as a police officer.

Darnley, meanwhile, was labelled the hot cop on a now-defunct comedic competitive TV show called Wipeout Canada in 2010. Out of 78,000 Canadian applicants, Darnley was one of 120 selected for the series.

“They selected us for our ability to be fun and hold a character,” she said prior to the verdict. “The fantastic part is they flew us all out to Argentina do the show.”

Although the competition was designed to make viewers laugh, the show was gruelling, with obstacle courses that dangled over water — including a Tarzan swing — leap pads and a punching wall,

As the show opened, Darnley, then a rookie cop, wore handcuffs and gyrated and danced for the camera.

“Prepare to be disciplined because I’m gonna take you dow-w-w-w-ntown,” she says in a sing-song voice.

She made the top 12 in the obstacle course but the svelte blond, who is also trained as a personal trainer and nutrition expert, was eliminated when it came to “the sweeper” — a long arm that swung past contestants as they tried to jump over it and land on a platform about six metres over water.

Darnley will be sentenced at a later date.

Her lawyer, Angela McLeod, said she plans to argue her client was tricked and will ask a judge to stay the conviction at an entrapment hearing.

Darnley still faces charges under the police act that stem from the same circumstances.

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/04/13/ho ... h-of-trust

A Wasaga Beach OPP officer has been found guilty of breach of trust. A jury handed down the decision Wednesday (Apr 13/16).

Constable Kara Darnley (pictured) was acquitted of another charge, obstructing justice, in a case that's been dragging on for 4 years and involved a bizarre set of circumstances.

ENTRAPMENT?

According to a series of stories in the Toronto Sun, Const. Darnley was being “tested” for her integrity.

Back in 2012 a yellow folder was left near a station copier which contained documents stating Darnley's fiance's friends were under surveillance for drug trafficking. It was fake.

Futher: Constable Heidi Fisher, Darnley's close friend on the force, was with her and unknown to her wearing a wire. Darnley read the folder contents, took pictures with her cellphone and discussed “what to do” with Fisher, who advised Darnley to tell her fiance. Fisher kept Darley under surveillance for days and Darnley eventually told her fiance about the police documents.

Darnley appeared on WipeOut Canada in 2010 as a rookie cop and was dubbed Canada's Hot Cop. She faces other charges in this same case.

Her lawyer will argue entrapment and ask the judge to stay the conviction. She has not been sentenced.

It appears that Darnley and her fiance were not involved in anything illegal and it is not even clear if her fiance's friends were. Is this how OPP test the integrity of their officers? For reasons unknown they put Darnley in a very tough moral bind. The logged over 680 hours of surveillance. The other constable, who Darnley believed was her best friend and confidante, seemed to encourage her to do wrong.

I get it. Police have to make tough decisions and we have to trust them to do the right thing. This just seems like a bizarre way to test someone. It's like police playing games with police, and police are put in a position where they just can't win.

http://www.610cktb.com/Shows/LFedoruk/2 ... zarre-case

A Wasaga Beach OPP officer wept in court late last night as a jury found her guilty of breach of trust, but not guilty of obstruction of justice.

"'It's very disheartening," said Const. Kara Darnley as she stood outside of court with her mother and father. "This has been going on for four years."

Darnley was charged with obstruction of justice and breach of trust in charges stemming from incidents in 2012 where she copied documents that stated her fiance''s friends were under surveillance for drug trafficking, then told him about it.

Unknown to Darnley, the documents were fake and deliberately planted near a hidden camera in the police office where she would find them.

The scheme, which police called an 'integrity play' involved 680 hours of undercover surveillance with 480 hours of wire taps on Darnley to test her mettle as a police officer.

Throughout the sting, a female undercover officer was hired to befriend Darnley and pretended to keep watch while Darnley looked through the bogus documents.

Her lawyer, Angela McLeod, said she is disappointed and plans to argue her client was tricked and will ask a judge to stay the charge at an entrapment hearing.

"We will be asking the judge to find that the undercover officer lured her into committing a breach of trust," McLeod said.

"We stand by our daughter one hundred percent," said Darnley's mom and dad who have sat through the entire trial. "We are very proud of her for stand up and fighting against these charges."

Darnley still faces charges under the police act from the same incidents.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

'I LOVE BEING A POLICE OFFICER'

She was once dubbed “Canada’s Hot Cop” but OPP Const. Kara Darnley got a major cooling off this month after her employers charged her with breach of trust and obstruction of justice in an unrelated incident.

On Wednesday night, a Barrie jury found Darnley not guilty of obstruction of justice but guilty of breach of trust in charges laid by her employer.

Darnley’s experience as the hot cop on a comedic competitive TV show called Wipeout Canada in 2010 was an experience of a lifetime, she says.

“It was a blast,” says the svelte blond who is also trained as a personal trainer and nutrition expert.

She was still a rookie cop when she applied for the show and got the OK from her commander at the Wasaga Beach detachment. From then on it was a whirlwind of fun.

Out of 78,000 Canadian applicants, Darnley was one of 120 selected for the series.

"They selected us for our ability to be fun and hold a character," she said. “The fantastic part is they flew us all out to Argentina do the show."

Although the competition is designed to make viewers laugh and guffaw, the test was grueling, with obstacle courses that dangled over water, including a Tarzan swing, leap pads and a punching wall, where you actually do get punched.

There is no practice time, and Darnley didn’t even know she was supposed to be the ‘hot cop’ until show time.

As the show opens, Darnley wears handcuffs as she gyrates and dances for the camera.

“Prepare to be disciplined cause I’m gonna take you dowwwwwn town,” she says in a sing-song voice.

She made the top 12 in the obstacle course but Darnley was eliminated when it came to “the sweeper” – a long arm that swings past contestants as they try to jump over it and land on a platform 20-feet over water.

Looking back, Darnley says she has no regrets about participating in the show – although she’s not sure if her employer feels the same.

“It was a once in a lifetime experience," she said. “It was a week of fun and I met people from all across Canada.”

Two years later in completely unrelated circumstances, Darnley was under another test, when her superiors set up surveillance in what was called an “integrity play.” Her employer set up a camera with false information that her fiancé was hanging with friends who were drug dealers. Frightened, Darnley copied the information and told her fiancé about it, and was charged for dissemination the confidential police information.

Still facing muddy waters with her employer, Darnley is not sure what her future will be and remains on paid suspension.

“I loved being a police officer,” she said. “It’s what I always wanted to do. Only time will tell what comes next.”

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2016/0 ... h-of-trust

BARRIE - The way Wasaga Beach OPP brass entrapped officer Kara Darnley was “akin to cattle being scuttled toward their slaughter,” her lawyer says.

“There was no turning left or right, she was scuttled along to the end direction,” Angela McLeod argued during her client’s entrapment hearing Tuesday.

Last Friday, Darnley was found not guilty of obstructing justice but guilty of breach of trust for copying confidential police documents in 2012 that indicated her fiance’s friends were under surveillance for drug trafficking.

What Darnley didn’t know at the time was the documents found in that bright yellow folder on the office photocopier were fake.

Darnley’s bosses were concerned she was associating with drug users and wanted to test her integrity, so they planted the phony documents where they thought she’d notice them and pointed a hidden camera on them.

The so-called “integrity play” involved a team of officers and at least 680 hours of surveillance on Darnley.

During the trial, the jury heard an audio recording of Darnley sounding shocked when she finds the phony documents, while another officer — who is wearing a wire — pretends to stand watch.

McLeod insists the undercover officer “encouraged and directed” Darnley to look at the documents and to later tell her fiance about them.

She says none of the evidence collected pointed to any drug activity on Darnley’s part.

McLeod wants the judge to toss the conviction because police committed an abuse of process.

But Crown attorney Jason Nicol claims police used reasonable tactics.

“Police had a reasonable suspicion Ms. Darnley was involved in drug activity,” Nicol said.

He mentioned an earlier case where she was disciplined for doing nothing when a joint was passed around at a house party she attended.

In the end, the Crown said, no one forced Darnley to look at the fake documents or tell her fiance.

“It was her decision and hers alone,” said Nicol, who admitted the police used “deceit ... but it’s at the very low end.”

Judge Susan Healey will give her ruling in July.

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/04/19/ho ... aring-told

BARRIE - A Crown attorney wants an OPP officer who is eight months pregnant to go to jail for breach of trust but a judge decided Wednesday to let her have the baby before her sentencing.

Kara Darnley, formerly dubbed “Canada’s hot cop” after she participated in a quippy comedic television competition, was found guilty earlier this year of breach of trust after she was caught copying “faked” confidential information and sharing it with her fiance in 2012.

Her defence lawyer is outraged and called it a case of “entrapment” by her boss.

Court heard how Darnley’s employers at the Wasaga Beach detachment were concerned that her fiance’s friends were involved in drugs.

So they set up a surveillance scheme called an “integrity play.” They planted a hidden video camera near a bright yellow file folder that stated her fiance’s friends were under surveillance for drug trafficking — but it was all a hoax just to see what she would do.

Darnley took the bait, photographed the documents and brought them to her boyfriend all while she was being secretly recorded by a female undercover officer who pretended to be her close friend. In the recordings, played in court, Darnley sounds alarmed and warns her man to stay away from the alleged drug dealers, but he insists his friends are clean, hardworking men. The entire play involved 680 hours of surveillance with 480 hours of wire taps on Darnley.

“It’s very fortunate no real investigation was compromised ... because the investigation was fake,” said Crown Jason Nicol who wants Darnley in jail for one year and suggested she should have her baby while in custody and CAS would take it away.

“Sentences for police officers must be more severe than for that of the average person.”

The Crown also brought up “bad character” evidence to show Darnley had been sleeping on the job during night shifts and had taken two OPP T-shirts that were no longer being used.

“This is nothing more than mud-slinging,” said defence lawyer Angela McLeod who suggested many officers sleep during night shifts when there are no calls.

McLeod has argued her client was “lured” by the friendly undercover officer and should receive a conditional discharge, noting Darnley has already been punished as she will lose her “dream job” as a police officer.

“There are many cases of police officers assaulting others in the community who have received lesser sentences,” McLeod said.

Justice Susan Healey told court that she was “troubled” by the case.

“She did not do this for personal gain. It seems to me Ms. Darnley was trying to steer her boyfriend away from criminal conduct,” the judge said. “I see this as very different from a corrupt police officer.”

In the end the judge decided to sentence on Sept. 14 to allow Darnley time to have her baby so that she won’t have to have it in jail.

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/07/06/ho ... th-in-jail

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2016/0 ... ives-birth

A Huronia West OPP constable has been given 16 months house arrest for breach of trust.

Kara Darnley was found guilty by a jury in April of two counts of breach of trust, after she was caught passing information to her boyfriend, which she thought was police intelligence about him and his friends.

Sentencing was delayed until Wednesday as Darnley was expecting a child. Her daughter was born on Sept. 1.

Madam Justice Susan Healey ruled Darnley, 33, is to live at her Wasaga Beach home, only leaving for medical or legal appointments. She is allowed to shop for necessities on Wednesdays for three hours.

Darnley has also been asked to do 180 hours of community service, to abstain from consuming alcohol for the duration of her sentence, and isn't allowed more than two visitors at a time and only between 9 and 11 a.m., and 4 and 6 p.m.

She is also not permitted to contact the officers who were involved in her investigation for the duration of her sentence.

Darnley was charged in 2012 for criminal breach of trust, obstructing justice, theft under $5,000 and possession under $5,000.

She had been accused of sharing investigative information with her boyfriend, as well as sharing witness statements in relation to a criminal court proceeding with other witnesses.

She had also been accused of stealing four OPP-marked police T-shirts from the local detachment.

As part of the investigation, Darnley had been ‘befriended’ by another officer whose job it was to keep an eye on Darnley and gain her trust. As part of that investigation, a faked dossier of information on Darnley’s boyfriend and his associates was placed where the officer was sure to find it; Darnley copied the information, and passed it on to her boyfriend.

Her lawyer, Angela McLeod, had attempted to argue in May for a stay in proceedings on one of the breach of trust on the basis her client was entrapped through the ‘integrity play’ by officers investigating her conduct.

Justice Healey dismissed the stay, ruling the OPP had a reasonable suspicion of her conduct.

Darnley is still an OPP officer, and has been suspended from duty with pay since her arrest. The OPP’s Professional Standards Branch were to hear Police Act charges against Darnley once the criminal proceedings were complete. A date has not yet been set for a hearing.

Darnley had been dubbed ‘Hot Cop’ in 2011, after she participated in a reality television show that featured participants running through an obstacle course.

http://www.simcoe.com/news-story/685695 ... t-charges/

With a 12-day-old baby clutched in her arms, Kara Darnley, an OPP officer in Wasaga Beach, was sent home on strict 16-month house arrest where she will only be allowed scheduled two-hour visits with guests, even with her mother.

Formerly dubbed “Canada’s Hot Cop” after she participated in a hokey television competition in 2009, Darnley was found guilty of two counts of breach of trust after her boss caught her copying confidential information and sharing it to protect her fiancé in 2012.

Darnley had no idea she was being set up by her boss in what police called an “integrity play” because they suspected her honour as a police officer was not up to snuff.

Police planted a bright yellow file folder near a video camera with the names of her then-fiance's friends in big black letters that fictitiously stated they were being investigated for drugs.

Police also planted an undercover officer who wore a wire to befriend Darnley and follow her everywhere.

After hundreds of hours of wire taps and surveillance on Darnley, they finally caught her taking the bait. She copied the faked files and showed them to her hubby to warn him.

“Plain and simple, this was a gross violation of her duties. She did so knowing she was breaking the law,” Superior Court Justice Susan Healey said in sentencing. “Our police officers must be held to a higher standard.”

The judge admitted Darnley didn’t deliberately go looking to commit a crime.

“Rather it was in response to something that was planted in front of her … but she made the wrong choice,” the judge said.

“I accept that Ms. Darnley was caught in a moral dilemma,” said the judge. “She was motivated to direct her boyfriend to avoid persons involved with criminal activity.”

Last month, while Darnley was pregnant, the Crown had asked for a stiff jail sentence, noting Darnley had also shown a lack of integrity by sleeping on the job during late-night shifts.

But the judge stated it would be “too harsh” a sentence to separate a breast-feeding mother from her infant.

Defence lawyer Angela McLeod says she’s upset with the outcome.

“There is an air of vindictiveness in this entire proceeding,” McLeod said. “Hundreds of hours of surveillance … that kind of taxpayer money should be spent on the drug dealers and sex offenders.”

McLeod said she is shocked that Darnley’s own mother cannot spend nights with her daughter to help with the infant and instead must schedule two-hour visits.

McLeod said two hours after Darnley was sentenced, an OPP officer knocked on her door to check up on her.

“This is outrageous,” McLeod said. “I’ve never heard of such strict sanctions for a first-time, non-violent offender.”

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2016/0 ... -operation