August 2016 WFP was tipped off that Neil Vincent and his regime were going to arrest Wingham Free Press’s videographer if he attended another meeting. Clearly this would be unconstitutional if proved to be true, so WFP sent it’s videographer along with at least two others with cameras to document any arrest if it happened that evening.
NOTE: WFP previously negotiated/clarified the Right/ability to ask councillors questions after the meeting was over as not to violate section 30.1 of North Huron’s procedural bylaw. It is not “illegal” to posses a camera at North Huron council meeting, but it is “illegal” to actively record a council meeting according to Vincent’s bylaw.
WFP’s videographer did not record that evening, and showed council and the officer the camera was off to prove that fact. This was also proven in court.
How it started:
22Aug2016 Neil Vincent starts the council meeting, states he wants cameras put back in packages. It was impossible for those with cameras around their necks to comply with this bizarre request. It is not known who Neil Vincent was talking to, as numerous people had camera phones out or exposed.
Less than 30 seconds into the meeting Neil Vincent ordered the police to be called. Town Hall then shut off their video cameras in an attempt to create a “our word against your word” scenario. Once Vincent adjourned the meeting (30 seconds into it), it was “legal” for the Public/Press gallery to video record according to 30.1 of the procedural bylaw. At this point at least two members of Wingham Copwatch started recording, one would be arrested for video recording the arrest of WFP’s videographer.
North Huron Clerk Kathy Adams Lies to Police
When officer Kevin MacAdam arrived at Wingham Town Hall he had a conversation with Kathy Adams in the hallway. North Huron Clerk Kathy Adams tells the officer that three people were repeatedly asked to leave Town Hall and were refusing to leave. To this point the officer could claim he was acting in good faith as Kathy Adams clearly lied to him. The officer was under the false impression from Kathy Adams that people were asked to leave and were refusing to do so. Kathy Adams clearly lied to the officer as shown by North Huron’s own video of the council meeting.
Brock Vodden Lies to Police/Court
The night of the arrests Brock Vodden tells the officer WFP’s videographer’s camera was in use. This was untrue as proven in court, and by the fact the WFP videographer showed everyone in the room the camera was off.
Brock’s statement to the police/court included “They refused and the Reeve indicated that since they were in breach of the by-law the would have to leave council chamber”. This did not happen and is fabricated as proven by Town Hall’s own video.
Officer MacAdam Arrests WFP Videographer And Wingham Copwatch Member
Officer MacAdam enters council chambers and tells three people they are currently breaking the law and need to leave. The WFP videographer attempts to explain to the officer he is not violating 30.1 of the procedural bylaw, and he was not engaged in a prohibited activity.
Video of Town Hall Arrests 22Aug2017.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Not a single person was asked to leave before the police showed up. Any claims the three were asked to leave are fabricated to facilitate the arrest and removal of 3 Winghamites highly critical of Wingham police costs. When more than two people tell the exact same lie it is quite reasonable to assume collusion has taken place. When more 4 or more tell the exact same lie, collusion is the only possible conclusion.
Officer MacAdam Repeatedly Claims Body Camera Is On – Footage Denied/Deleted
The night of the arrest officer MacAdam repeatedly claimed his body camera was recording. This was caught on video during the arrest, and the officer repeatedly claimed it was recording at the police station.
Numerous requests were made to speak to a supervisor, those requests only resulted in condescending comments by the officer to the arrested.
At the Wingham police station it was explained to the officer that the two arrested were not asked to leave before the police were called or showed up, and all he has to do is watch the video from town hall to see for himself. The officer stated it would be his and council’s and his word against ours and we would lose in court. That is the reason the tickets were made out as “engaged in prohibited activity” instead of “failure to leave when asked”. The officer knew that night the three were not asked to leave, and had easy access to video on YouTube or North Huron’s website for verification.
The officer was harshly scolded by the WFP videographer for the treatment of Wingham Copwatch member, and let officer know that he just arrested someone for “camera possession” and someone for recording that arrest in a Public space.
At this point the officer was holding the “engaged in prohibited activity tickets” close to his chest, literally. The officer seemed reluctant to hand over the tickets and let us freely be on our way. A demand for the tickets was made and the officer was told it would be fought in court. The WFP videographer also told the officer a request was going to be made the following morning for the body camera footage.
Body Camera Footage Disappears
The following morning a request for the body camera footage was made. Chief Tim Poole stated that the footage didn’t exist, and laughingly stated “all the officer has to do is claim he acted in good faith, and you can’t do anything about it.” This is despite the fact the officer clearly stated he is getting it on video, and we would not be able get a copy on the night of the arrest. He also stated “Who do you think the court is going to believe, councillors and the police or you two?”.
Officer MacAdam Lies to Court
MacAdam claims he had a conversation with Reeve Neil Vincent at the front of the room where Vincent told him again that people were asked to leave and were refusing to do so.
This did not happen. No one was asked to leave before the officer asked them, therefore no one could be refusing to leave before the officer showed up. The officer did not have this conversation. Then entire conversation was fabricated by the officer in an attempt to secure a conviction by telling the judge that the Reeve told him repeatedly that the three were refusing to leave. Here is a link to a video with two camera angles proving that the conversation never happened.
Neil Vincent Lies To Court
Neil Vincent testified under oath that “I had asked Mr. X to put it (camera and tripod) away, or we would have to have him removed.”
This did not happen. The Reeve never addressed anyone directly and he never advised anyone they were at risk of being removed by the police. This is clearly shown in the Town Hall’s own video.
All testimony at the trial by Neil Vincent where he claims he asked people to turn their cameras off are fabricated. All testimony that people were refusing to leave are fabricated.
Neil Vincent knew that if he asked the three to leave, they would have left. This came out at the trial and the Reeve had to admit the three were never asked to leave. If no one was asked to leave, the call to the police by Kathy Adams about three unwanted males refusing to leave was a false claim.
North Huron Councillor Yolanda-Ritsema-Teeninga Lies To Police/Court
Yolanda’s statement to the police/court claimed Vincent read the bylaw to the Public Gallery and “He kindly asked them to leave. They refused”.
As you can see in the Town Hall’s own video all those claims are fabricated. The Reeve never read the bylaw and he never asked anyone to leave.
The Collusion Conclusion:
Chief Tim Poole did not believe there was a conflict of interest in the Wingham Police investigating themselves, or investigating those that approve his budget or members of the Police Service Board.
There can be no doubt the the following have lied to the court:
North Huron Clerk Kathy Adams, North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent, North Huron Councillor Brock Vodden, North Huron Councillor Yolanda-Ritsema-Teeninga and Wingham Police Officer Kevin MacAdam.
The question is how did they all come up with the same lie about the three being asked to leave, the three refusing, and even regarding Vincent reading the bylaw out loud before asking them to leave.
So, how did it happen? Was it a shared hallucination, or is it more likely Kathy, Neil, Brock, Yolanda and Kevin colluded/coordinated their statements to punish Winghamites that are highly critical of Wingham police costs?
