However, in March 2021, the New Brunswick woman was found trying to convince a Fredericton police officer that she wasn’t high when she got into a car accident near Regent Mall minutes earlier. Const. Garrett Fancy didn’t believe her. He handcuffed her and took her to Queen Street station. She would spend the next two hours being questioned and put through a 12-step test that officers use on people they suspect of being under the influence of drugs while driving. She left the station that night, not being allowed to drive for the next seven days, and on a promise to appear in court to answer a charge of impaired driving. For the next nine months, Staples-Wilkinson would live in an uneasy state of limbo until a negative drug test finally gave her name. This summer, Staples-Wilkinson received a written apology from former police chief Roger Brown, who assured her Fancy would be placed on probation and required to retrain. However, she said the experience has shaken her faith in the police and damaged her mental health. “It was mentally stressful because I still didn’t know how I went from just being in a car accident to being charged with drugs,” Staples-Wilkinson said. “I had to take medication because I wasn’t sleeping properly or getting close. It was constantly on my mind.”
One accident, one charge
It was about 4 p.m. on March 16, 2021, and Staples-Wilkinson had just left the restaurant where she works. He was driving north on Arnold Drive toward Vanier Highway when an oncoming vehicle made a left turn just as he passed the Bishop Drive intersection. She said the front of her car hit the passenger side of the other car, leaving her shaken and with concussion symptoms. She got out of her car to check on the other driver before calling 911. Confused and panicked, she mistakenly told the dispatcher that the Pontiac G5 she was driving was a “Pontiac Elantra,” confusing the model name with another car she regularly drives. He would later discover from police records that the dispatcher told Fancy, the first officer on the scene, that he “sounded disabled.” Pam Staples-Wilkinson crashed into another car making a left turn as she was crossing a junction near Regent Mall. (Submitted by Mark Wilkinson) Staples-Wilkinson said that when Fancy arrived, she was expected to give a statement, arrange security and undergo a medical. Instead, within minutes of his arrival, she said he began questioning her about whether she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He eventually ordered her to take a standard field sobriety test (SFST), a practice officially adopted by police in Canada in 2008. The three-step test is typically performed by police during roadside traffic stops and includes walking and turning, standing on one leg and an eye test that involves tracking an object from side to side, according to the Public Safety Canada. Staples-Wilkinson said the test ended with Fancy telling her she failed, handcuffing her, putting her in the back of his cruiser and taking her to Queen Street station. “I was really bummed because I didn’t understand how he automatically went to me because he barely spoke to me,” she said. “He was here for about two minutes and automatically assumed I was under the influence of something. Everyone acts differently in a car accident.”
“They kept chasing me”
Down at the station, Staples-Wilkinson said her experience was getting worse. He said Fancy brought another officer, Const. Dylan Howell, who served as a drug identification specialist. She said the two officers took her to the shooting range of the underground station. “They took me in and did all the tests and asked me why I was shivering, and I said ‘Well it’s cold in here. You’re in a cinder block room on the coldest day in March and I’m basically in my underwear. And a work shirt.’ “And they kept chasing me. “What were you smoking? What edibles did you eat?” They said, “You are under the influence of drugs and will be charged.” Staples-Wilkinson said she was taken to the Fredericton police station on Queen Street for another, more rigorous field sobriety test by another officer at the station’s shooting range. (CBC) Staples-Wilkinson said she was then ordered to provide a urine sample to be tested for drugs. She said officers then told her she would have to return to the station in a few weeks to submit fingerprints and gave her a promise to appear in court to face the impaired driving charge. For the next seven days, she had to rely on her friends and family to drive her to work and run errands. He also had to have a lawyer, which he ultimately didn’t need. He said he later discovered police never filed documents with the Crown attorney and when the urine test results came back negative last December, the matter was dropped entirely.
An investigation, an apology
After nine months of worrying about what would happen to her, Staples-Wilkinson said the results brought her relief, but also anger at what she had been through. In February, she filed a complaint with Fredericton police and requested all records related to her case. He also filed a complaint with the New Brunswick Police Commission, which opened an investigation led by Allen Farrah. Farrah, in his report dated June 8, said Fancy was “negligent in his duties” and abused his authority in breach of the Police Act. He said Fancy failed to properly attend his SFST training and did not properly complete the SFST report. Fancy also “failed to consider the totality of the situation” when assessing Staples-Wilkinson’s sobriety, Farrah wrote. As a result, “Fancy should not have arrested the complainant based on his observations and conclusions alone.” Farrah also found that Howell was derelict in his duty when he failed to have a female officer present for the drug recognition assessment. Following the report, Fredericton police Insp. Brian Ford informed Staples-Wilkinson that Brown had reached an informal settlement agreement with Fancy and Howell. Former Fredericton Police Chief Roger Brown apologized to Staples-Wilkinson in July and told her Fancy would be placed on six months’ probation. (Ed Hunter/CBC) On July 7, Brown wrote to Staples-Wilkinson to apologize and inform her of the disciplinary action against Fancy. Brown said he ordered Fancy to undergo additional training in standardized field sobriety tests and to be placed on six months’ probation where “all of his interactions with these types of records will be evaluated by a supervisor.” “Policing in general is not an easy profession, however, we are in positions where the public must trust us,” Brown wrote. For Staples-Wilkinson, that trust is broken. “I hold my breath every time they drive past me,” he said. “I shouldn’t be afraid of the city police, and I am. I’m literally afraid of them. I shouldn’t be, but because of what happened I have no confidence in them. I don’t trust them.” CBC News asked Fredericton Police for an interview about the case. A spokesman said it had already been processed by the committee and was now closed. “We cannot comment further and will not be interviewed on the matter,” Sonya Gilks said in an email.
