GUELPH – The provincial coroner has investigated and cleared itself of any wrongdoing in the seizure of a Guelph Today reporter’s personal property.
Richard Vivian, a longtime reporter and currently assistant editor at Guelph Today, said an OPP officer grabbed him, seized his camera and detained him while he was taking photos at the scene of a fatal crash on the morning of Dec. 20 at the intersection of the Hanlon Expressway and College Avenue.
Police returned Vivian’s camera, but seized the memory card, claiming it was evidence in the coroner’s investigation.
It’s unclear how news reporting following a death could be connected to the coroner’s investigation, and that point has never been clarified.
Coroner’s Office issues manager Stephanie Rea stated in an email to the Advertiser coroners can seize anything they want, so long as they have “reasonable grounds,” meaning the coroner believes the property is “material to the purposes of the investigation.”
Images from Vivian’s memory card were uploaded and transferred by the OPP to the coroner, and the card was returned the next day.
Following news of what happened, and subsequent complaints filed by Village Media, the Office of the Chief Coroner began an internal review.
Village Media, which publishes Guelph Today, called the officer’s behaviour “a flagrant abuse of power” and stated at the time the OPP “should immediately apologize.”
The Canadian Association of Journalists characterized the OPP’s treatment of Vivian as a “physical assault” and a “blatant violation of press freedom.”
It’s a long-standing and common journalistic practice for reporters to capture images at the scene of a crime or collision.
CTV Kitchener was able to video record footage from the same scene that day, as well as conduct a roadside interview with the OPP, seemingly without issue.
Rea declined to provide findings of the internal review to the Advertiser, but Guelph Today recently reported the coroner’s office cleared itself of any wrongdoing.
According to Guelph Today, “at no point” did Deputy Chief Coroner Bonnie Burke — tasked by the province’s top coroner with conducting the review — speak with Village Media staff who filed the complaint.
Guelph Today argued “the coroner was acting at the request of the upset OPP officer and had no intention or need to confiscate the equipment for his professional purpose.”
Quoting from a written decision made by Chief Coroner of Ontario Dr. Dirk Huyer, Guelph Today reported the decision to seize Vivian’s property was “based on a rapidly changing environment and the concern that critical evidence would be lost.”
“The decision to seize the SD card was informed by multiple factors including (but not limited to), the unexpected delayed attendance of OPP Scene of Crime Officers responsible for taking photographs for the coroner, the on-going [sic] closure of a busy intersection and the need for the coroner and the pathologist to understand the scene and the angles of the collision,” Huyer wrote.
However, that statement is contradicted by Vivian’s photos from the scene, which show OPP investigators were already on scene with cameras set up at the time.
“We are extremely disappointed and somewhat confused with not only the findings of the coroner’s investigation, but most notably in how it was conducted,” Village Media editor in chief Michael Friscolanti told the Advertiser.
“At no point did investigators contact reporter Richard Vivian, who had essential information and evidence that contradicts what the coroner at the scene told investigators.”
Village Media is exploring avenues to appeal the coroner’s findings.
“This was a matter of suppression of a reporter trying to do his job,” Friscolanti stated.
Vivian again decline an interview with the Advertiser about the incident.
Rea wrote that the seizure of a reporter’s property is a “rare event,” but would not say whether it has happened before.
She stated the coroner “values the freedom of the press and its importance in the timely reporting of news to the public.”
In response to the coroner’s findings, Canadian Association of Journalists president Brent Jolly said Huyer’s decision “comes off as a perfunctory effort to paper over, and explain away, any wrongdoing.”
Journalists are “not agents of the police” Jolly said, adding, “Public authorities must respect the rights afforded to journalists to report matters in the public interest.”
The OPP’s Professional Standards Bureau also opened an investigation into the conduct of the officer who detained Vivian.
That investigation is ongoing, according to Guelph Today, and will ultimately determine if an unprofessional conduct charge against the officer is warranted.
The same officer was involved in an interaction with an Advertiser reporter at a car crash scene on Highway 6 in Guelph/Eramosa, nine days after the incident involving Vivian.
The Advertiser reporter was prevented from doing their job and told to stop taking photos.
That interaction is also being investigated by the OPP’s Professional Standards Bureau.
