A former Vancouver cop convicted of breach of trust and sexual exploitation this week had his appeal denied in B.C. Court of Appeal.
In August, James Fisher, 61, was sentenced to 20 months in prison and two years of probation after pleading guilty to two counts of breach of trust and one count of sexual exploitation. Fisher was arrested and charged in 2016 after he kissed two witnesses, a 17-year-old girl and a 21-year-old woman, who were witnesses in prostitution ring cases he worked on.
He was sentenced to 90 days for the sexual exploitation charge, 12 months for one breach of trust charge, to be served concurrently, and another eight months for the second breach of trust charge.
Fisher launched an appeal of his sentence arguing that the judge put “undue weight on the victim impact statement of one victim” and said that the eight-month sentence for the second breach of trust charge was “demonstrably unfit.”
According to court documents, Fisher joined the Vancouver Police Department in 1988 and “became a highly decorated and accomplished investigator.” He mostly worked in the department’s special investigation units such as the gang task force and the coordinated law enforcement unit. He worked for Criminal Intelligence Service Canada in Ottawa as the national coordinator for Asia Organized Crime and created a working group to formalize the sharing of information on Asian organized crime between federal and municipal investigators in B.C. and Alberta. Fisher also did work on human smuggling.
He received many awards and commendations for his work.
In 2011, he was transferred to the department’s counter exploitation unit, which investigates prostitution-related offences, internet child luring, child pornography and helps sex trade workers leaving the sex trade.
“The CEU directs its officers not to meet alone with female victims and witnesses,” the court of appeal ruling reads.
According to the ruling, Fisher kissed the 17-year-old witness on three separate occasions between August and December 2015. He kissed the 21-year-old once in December 2015.
Both women told other police officers or a support worker about the incidents, and in 2016 an investigation ensued. Fisher was arrested on Dec. 28, 2016 and immediately suspended. He subsequently retired from the VPD.
Fisher pleaded guilty to all three charges in March 2018 and was sentenced in August.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Robert Hamilton noted that while reference letters spoke highly of Fisher, he had a “hidden side” and that the offences he committed appeared irreconcilable with his personal and professional accomplishments.
“The sentencing judge noted that the offences had already had catastrophic consequences for the appellant’s career, reputation, marriage, and post-retirement career prospects. He said he would take into account the price the appellant had already paid for his crimes, but that he ought to have known he would pay that price when he committed the offences,” the court of appeal ruling reads.
In his appeal, Fisher argued that the judge erred in accepting the victim impact statement of the 21-year-old victim without properly scrutinizing it. He said that the sentence imposed in the second count of breach of trust was “disproportionate considering the gravity of the offence and his degree of responsibility” and called it “unduly harsh.” Fisher argued that the judge “did not take into account the difficult circumstances in prison for a police officer.”
The trio of Court of Appeal judges did not agree.
“This is a tragic case,” wrote Justice Nicole J. Garson. “It was tragic for the victims who had grown to trust and admire a senior police officer who did all that he could to help improve their lives and bring to justice those who abused them. He worked tirelessly to do so. To experience the appellant as just another man seeking sexual favours from them must have been a breach of trust of the highest order.”
@JessicaEKerr
