A decision released today by Justice Denise Boudreau awards $52,640 in damages to Laura Doucette, the Nova Scotian woman who was defamed by Department of Justice investigator David Grimes in 2012.
As we've previously reported, Grimes was the officer assigned to evaluate Doucette for a firearms license so she could complete the Correctional Worker and Policing Foundations program she was taking through Success College. In the course of that investigation, Grimes got it in his head that Doucette and her husband were suspects in an armed robbery. He then repeated that information to her instructors and Dalhousie Security, where Doucette was employed for her work placement.
But Grimes was dead wrong. Reporter Kim Hart Macneill writes:
“Even though the only evidence was Grimes’ word, Doucette was dismissed from her work placement and unable to graduate. No one at the school investigated the allegations.”
Justice Boudreau calls Grimes’ actions “offensive and inexplicable” in today's decision.
“He used the opportunities presented by his position to cause havoc in the life of the plaintiff,” Boudreau writes. “He did this in complete ignorance of whether the allegations were true and with a complete lack of diligence in deterring their truth…And all of this he did in cavalier fashion, with entirely callous disregard for the results his woulds would have.”
Boudreau awarded Doucette $35,000 in general damages, $15,000 in aggravated damages and $2,640 in special damages for lost work. No punitive damages were awarded.
Doucette’s lawyers, David Coles and Meghan Russell, had originally asked for $350,000 in damages to cover legal costs, reimburse Doucette’s tuition and act as a deterrent. The Department of Justice’s lawyers argued for $30,000. For transparency’s sake, it’s worth mentioning that Coles has provided legal expertise to The Coast in the past.
Boudreau found that Doucette was dismissed from her Dalhousie Security work placement—but not from her Success College program—because of Grimes’ actions. Though the decision says the events had a “truly unfortunate” impact on Doucette’s mental health, Boudreau also writes that she doesn’t believe Doucette is permanently setback from the incident. All those factors limited the damages awarded, even while Boudreau said Grimes’ actions “showed a completely reckless, I would say appalling, disregard for the plaintiff’s reputation and dignity.”
Effective as of March last year, all of the justice department’s firearms officers now have to undergo mandatory confidentiality training. Last we checked, David Grimes is still employed by the province. The only disciplinary action taken against him is a letter from his supervisor to the human resources department.
