Corbishley ‘should not have been’ involved in search warrant for officers’ homes
A former police commissioner who accused two officers of distributing confidential information about his divorce was involved in efforts to get a warrant to search their homes but “should not have been”, an inquiry has found.
Stephen Corbishley, when chief of the Bermuda Police Service, might also have put pressure on another officer regarding the application for a warrant, according to an internal report by the former head of the police’s professional standards department.
Detective Chief Inspector Arthur Glasford wrote that Mr Corbishley, who quit the BPS suddenly in October 2021 while under investigation for alleged gross misconduct, “was allowed to participate in the warrant drafting process” even though he was the complainant in a criminal investigation into the two officers.
“This never happens with investigations, for obvious reasons,” Mr Glasford wrote.
He wrote that Mr Corbishley and Superintendent Gillian Murray, his predecessor as head of the PSD, “contributed in providing the content of the information for the warrant”, adding: ”Both were considered to be complainants for this matter and should not have been involved to that extent.“
The criminal inquiry into how an affidavit prepared by Deborah Corbishley, the commissioner’s former wife, came to be e-mailed to the whole of the BPS led to the raids on the homes of Pc Robert Butterfield and Sergeant Mark Monk in December 2020, when their phones and other electronic equipment were seized.
They were accused of causing disaffection in the Bermuda Police Service, a little-known offence under Section 36 of the Police Act 1974.
Mr Glasford wrote: “There are e-mails that confirm that CoP Corbishley and Supt Murray were actively seeking a way to try and dismiss Pc Butterfield before the e-mail was circulated to the BPS.
“These two are then drafting a warrant to search Pc Butterfield and Ps Monk’s home.
“The ‘investigation’ appears to have only focused on Pc Butterfield — primary target — and, to a lesser extent, Ps Monk — innocent casualty — to the complete exclusion of other possibilities.”
Mr Glasford wrote that Mr Corbishley made additions to the warrant information, after which Ms Murray sent e-mails “complaining of the information that was being added to the document, voicing her displeasure and seemingly not in agreement with some of the information being added.
“Interestingly, Supt Murray comments that ‘the matter is morphing into a criminal matter, which she does not believe that it is’.
“Further, she appears to indicate that she is being pressured by CoP Corbishley.”
Stephen Corbishley was appointed in 2018 by John Rankin, then the Governor, to serve a five-year term as the Commissioner of Police. He came from Kent Police in South-East England.
His arrival sparked consternation among politicians, who insisted that a Bermudian should have been appointed to the top job, and his departure was no less controversial.
He quit suddenly on October 1, 2021 while under investigation for gross misconduct allegations made by Pc Robert Butterfield, an officer he had accused of distributing a confidential affidavit from his divorce proceedings.
Pc Butterfield has a history of internal and external complaints made about him.
His allegations about the commissioner included that Mr Corbishley unlawfully identified him as a public access to information requester and passed information gathered during the criminal inquiry into the leaked affidavit to his personal lawyer to pursue a civil claim for damages.
Rena Lalgie, the Governor, ordered the misconduct inquiry but dropped it when Mr Corbishley resigned with two years left to run on his contract. She said last month that no report was presented to her that would have allowed her to determine if the former police commissioner was guilty.
Superintendent Gillian Murray was appointed by Mr Corbishley as the head of the BPS’s professional standards department in October 2019, as part of his efforts to root out corruption and boost standards of conduct in the police service.
Ms Murray, who was on secondment from the British Transport Police, came into contact with Sergeant Mark Monk after looking into an internal complaint made about him.
He challenged her actions and discovered that she did not have authority to make decisions about officers’ conduct, owing to a legal technicality.
A review of all her decisions had to be carried out by Darrin Simons, who was then the deputy police commissioner and was responsible for discipline. Mr Simons is now the police commissioner.
Sergeant Monk asked Mr Corbishley whether the BPS would pay his legal expenses in relation to him challenging Ms Murray’s authority, and Mr Corbishley refused.
Detective Chief Inspector Arthur Glasford, Ms Murray’s successor as head of the PSD, found in an internal report that she and Mr Corbishley “were actively seeking a way to try and dismiss Pc Butterfield” before the divorce affidavit was leaked.
He found that Ms Murray added Sergeant Monk’s name to the warrant information, after it was initially drafted in relation to Pc Butterfield.
Mr Glasford wrote: “Ps Monk’s name is then added to the warrant Information by Supt Murray — this is clear even now when you read the entire warrant.
“It should be noted that Supt Murray lost her position as the AA [appropriate authority to deal with discipline] as a result of a legal challenge by Ps Monk and that Supt Murray irrefutably lied or deliberately misled the then DCoP [Mr Simons] in relation to an ongoing investigation into Ps Monk, causing him to increase the severity assessment of the matter, following her removal as AA.
“This predates the warrant information be[ing] drafted. E-mails exist that confirm this.”
Ms Murray returned to Britain in May 2021, more than five months before her contract was due to end. Mr Corbishley said: “Her leadership with the BPS has been first-class.”
Mr Glasford was tasked with reviewing how the search warrant was obtained after Sergeant Monk and Pc Butterfield launched civil proceedings regarding the legality of the raids.
He shared his findings with Darrin Simons, Mr Corbishley’s successor as Commissioner of Police, in March last year.
The BPS have since publicly admitted that the obtaining of the warrant to raid the home of Sergeant Monk was unlawful and agreed to pay him and his wife a $200,000 out-of-court settlement, plus their legal fees.
Pc Butterfield is still pursuing a civil lawsuit against the police commissioner.
Mr Glasford reviewed the information presented to senior magistrate Juan Wolffe to obtain the search warrant. The Gazette understands that there is a continuing disciplinary matter relating to a senior officer who attended the swearing of the warrant.
Mr Glasford found that many of the reasons given to the magistrate to justify the need for a warrant were based on “speculation and suspicion” rather than evidence.
However, the Gazette understands that a separate internal inquiry contradicted Mr Glasford’s findings about the information presented to Mr Wolffe, finding that it complied with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 2006.
Pc Butterfield and Sergeant Monk were told in July 2021 that they would not face criminal charges in relation to the leaked divorce affidavit and could return to work after being suspended.
Mr Glasford wrote: “There was never a crime here to be pursued, there was never any information to support the alleged offence of disaffection, there was never any information to support that the disclosure of the documents was a crime.
“The fact that this was later confirmed by the DPP’s office, even after having full access to both officers’ devices, speaks volumes.”
Mr Simons refused to release Mr Glasford’s report to Pc Butterfield under public access to information, but The Royal Gazette has seen a copy.
Rena Lalgie, the Governor, ordered an inquiry into Mr Corbishley after Pc Butterfield made accusations of gross misconduct against him. He denied any wrongdoing.
She dropped the matter after the commissioner’s resignation and refused to make public a report into the accusations, authored by retired detective Andrew Bermingham.
Ms Lalgie said in an e-mailed statement on July 24: “I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure accountability and integrity within the Bermuda Police Service.
“It is a matter of public record that I instigated an investigation under the Police Conduct Orders into the conduct of the former Commissioner of Police.
“In line with those orders, that investigation was terminated upon his resignation.
“When I accepted that resignation, no investigation had concluded, and no report had been presented to me that would have allowed me to make a decision as to whether the former police commissioner was or was not guilty of gross misconduct.”
Mr Simons said: “This matter occurred in 2020. A warrant was obtained and executed that became subject of judicial review proceedings.
“Questions around the manner in which the warrant was obtained led to a report being prepared for BPS legal counsel.
“That report is subject to legal privilege and forms part of an ongoing investigation.”
The commissioner said the police had not authorised the release of Mr Glasford’s report because of its “potential to prejudicially impact ongoing investigations and their outcomes”.
He added: “This decision is consistent with court rulings on the matter of disclosures connected to potential criminal or disciplinary hearings of police officers.
“The findings of the review, while uncomfortable for the BPS, identify learning that we have taken steps to address by way of significant training.”
The Gazette has reached out several times to Mr Corbishley and Ms Murray for comment but has not received any response.
