Close X
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
ADVT 
National

Halifax Man Found Not Guilty Of Threats To Police In Chemicals Case

The Canadian Press, 24 Jun, 2015 12:02 PM
    HALIFAX — A Halifax man accused of threatening police with a rare, dangerous chemical has been found not guilty of threatening police and possessing a dangerous weapon.
     
    Christopher Phillips was arrested inside an Ottawa hotel on Jan. 21 after police found a large stockpile of his chemicals in two locations in Nova Scotia.
     
    The chemicals prompted evacuations in Nova Scotia and at the Ottawa hotel where he was found.
     
    The accused has been in jail for more than five months after pleading not guilty to the charges of threatening police officers and possessing a dangerous weapon — the chemical osmium tetroxide.
     
    During the trial, Judge David MacAdam heard from a chemist who testified that it's questionable whether the osmium tetroxide that Phillips had could have been a useful weapon.
     
    Phillips's lawyer, Mike Taylor, has said his client was joking when he sent an email to a friend suggesting he could throw some of the chemical at officers if they entered his home.
     
    In delivering his verdict on Wednesday, MacAdam said the evidence showed some investigators didn't believe that a rambling Dec. 27, 2014, email Phillips sent about throwing a container of the chemical at police was actually a threat.
     
    He said their belief it might be a threat relied on an assumption that Phillips might have the chemical with him as he drove to Ottawa, which turned out to be incorrect.
     
    "There is no evidence that Mr. Phillips's purpose for acquiring the chemical was for a purpose contrary to the public peace," said the judge.
     
    "He regarded it as an unusual chemical ... and later intended to use it with his other chemicals."
     
    Phillips was arrested after police found a large stockpile of his chemicals in a cottage and in a shed next to his home, leading to evacuations of people living near the storage areas.
     
    Crown attorney Karen Quigley argued the email needed to be considered along with other factors, such as testimony from Phillips's wife that her husband's mental health was deteriorating before he abruptly departed in a cube van for Ottawa.
     
    But Taylor said the wording of the email showed there was no criminal intent.
     
    Its text suggests a person could somehow poke a hole in a glass vial with osmium tetroxide as police entered their home, then put on a hazardous materials suit and hold their breath, he said. It goes on to refer to a tiny stick used to poke the hole in the vial becoming a walking stick that would be used by the person who throws the container.
     
    The email also speaks of the container being screwed to a credenza, which Taylor said would make it impossible to throw.
     
    "How can that possibly be construed to be a serious comment or as an instruction to carry out some kind of attack on police. ... It's almost ridiculous to make those kinds of comments unless you're joking," Taylor said.
     
    The defence lawyer said in one passage Phillips wrote: "Please understand it would require some really stupid or insane effort to actually turn this hypothesis into a theory by breaking the vial."
     
    The email to Phillips's friend was provided to the Halifax police by his wife Gosia Phillips after she contacted them on Jan. 19 asking them to remove the chemical. She testified she was worried her children might find it.
     
    Taylor said his client owned the chemical for use in experiments and because it was considered a novelty among chemists.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Man Facing Charges After Penticton Police Car Rammed, Dragged: RCMP

    Man Facing Charges After Penticton Police Car Rammed, Dragged: RCMP
    PENTICTON, B.C. — A 40-year-old man is facing charges after a police car was rammed and dragged at an intersection in Penticton, B.C.

    Man Facing Charges After Penticton Police Car Rammed, Dragged: RCMP

    B.C. Terror Trial Enters Second Day Of Closing Arguments Into Alleged Bomb Plot

    VANCOUVER — Another defence lawyer is expected to deliver closing arguments today in the trial of a husband and wife accused of plotting to bomb the B.C. legislature.

    B.C. Terror Trial Enters Second Day Of Closing Arguments Into Alleged Bomb Plot

    B.C. Must Work On Determining Total Impact Of Resource Projects: Auditor General

    B.C. Must Work On Determining Total Impact Of Resource Projects: Auditor General
    VICTORIA — British Columbia's auditor general says the province has failed to adequately address the long-term environmental impact of its resource-development decisions.

    B.C. Must Work On Determining Total Impact Of Resource Projects: Auditor General

    Emily Carr Work Expected To Fetch Up To $600,000 At Heffel Spring Auction

    Emily Carr Work Expected To Fetch Up To $600,000 At Heffel Spring Auction
    VANCOUVER — Paintings by Canadian artists Emily Carr, Paul-Emile Borduas and Tom Thomson are among the highlights of tonight's Heffel spring auction in Vancouver.

    Emily Carr Work Expected To Fetch Up To $600,000 At Heffel Spring Auction

    Street Race Crash In Surrey Sends Four To Hospital As Car Gets Pinned Under Semi

    Street Race Crash In Surrey Sends Four To Hospital As Car Gets Pinned Under Semi
    Four people are in hospital after a crash that police say appears to have happened during a street race at 176th Street and 16th Avenue in Surrey, B.C. RCMP say the collision happened at about 11:40 p.m. on Tuesday. 

    Street Race Crash In Surrey Sends Four To Hospital As Car Gets Pinned Under Semi

    Toronto Students Wear 'Crop Tops' To School In Protest After Teen Told To Cover Up

    Toronto Students Wear 'Crop Tops' To School In Protest After Teen Told To Cover Up
    Scores of students showed up in midriff-baring crop tops at a Toronto high school on Tuesday in a protest that came after school officials deemed one teen's outfit inappropriate.

    Toronto Students Wear 'Crop Tops' To School In Protest After Teen Told To Cover Up