Windsor Police Officer Appealing Discreditable Conduct Charge for $50 Donation to Freedom Convoy

Crowds of protesters demonstrate against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions during the Freedom Convoy protest in downtown Ottawa on Feb. 12, 2022. (Jonathan Ren/The Epoch Times)

Const. Michael Brisco—a Windsor police officer found guilty of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act for donating $50 to the Freedom Convoy protest—has appealed his charge, according to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.

“Constable Brisco is a highly trained and respected police officer with an exemplary record. He has been a police officer for 15 years and has no prior disciplinary record,” said the JCCF, a Canadian legal advocacy organization, in a June 1 release.

“He is a defender of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and believes that he was exercising his Charter right to freedom of expression when making the $50 donation to support the Ottawa Freedom Convoy.”

The JCCF, which has represented many Canadians facing COVID-19 pandemic-related charges, is now appealing the decision to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission.

Brisco, a veteran of the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) with no prior disciplinary record, made a donation to the protest through the website GiveSendGo on Feb. 7, 2022. At the time of the donation, Brisco was on unpaid leave for failing to meet the WPS' COVID-19 vaccination policy.

Despite Brisco’s donation being anonymous, his name was discovered and made public after the GiveSendGo website was hacked in February 2022.

During his initial February hearing, Brisco testified that he believed he had been “laid off” and thus thought his donation to the Freedom Convoy was made as a civilian. The hearing adjudicator, retired Ontario provincial police Sgt. Morris Elbers, ruled that the police force’s vaccine directive was “very clear” and there was no reason for Brisco to think he was no longer employed with the WPS.

‘Peaceful, Lawful, and Safe Protest’

At a May 4 penalty hearing, Windsor police lawyer David Amyot said Brisco’s action “carried significant, reprehensible repercussions” and brought the WPS into “disrepute.”

Amyot requested that as punishment Brisco work for 140 penalty hours. Defence lawyer Shane Miles asked for 40 hours.

Constable Brisco was convicted of “discreditable conduct” on May 18 for the donation to the Freedom Convoy and required to forfeit 80 hours of work as punishment.

Miles called the penalty “extreme,” reserved for only the “worst offenders in the worst circumstances.”

Sayeh Hassan, a counsel for Brisco, said the police officer was exercising his right to freedom of expression by making the donation.

“He fully believed that the protests were peaceful, and his beliefs were confirmed by the Superior Court, which allowed for the protests to continue, albeit without honking,” he said.

Brisco’s donation came one day after Justice McLean of the Ontario Superior Court ruled that the protestors remained “at liberty to engage in a peaceful, lawful and safe protest” in Ottawa.

“Canadians including police officers should be able to exercise their right to freedom of expression without being penalized. We are hopeful that the Ontario Civil Police Commission will overturn Constable Brisco’s conviction and uphold his right to freedom of expression,” Hassan said.

In November 2022, an officer with the Ottawa Police Service also forfeited 40 hours of pay for donating to the Freedom Convoy. Const. Kristina Neilson pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct for donating $55 through GoFundMe on Jan. 23, 2022, and an additional $55 through GiveSendGo at a later date.

Neilson, who joined the Ottawa police in 2012 and had no previous record of substantiated misconduct, was also ordered to participate in a Restorative Justice process as approved by the force’s Professional Standards Unit.