Investigatory Detention

Today’s Court of Appeal decision in R. v. Nesbeth, 2008 ONCA 579 provides a good summary of when police may detain an individual for investigatory purposes.

 

[13]          In R. v. Mann (2004), 185 C.C.C. (3d) 308 at para. 16, the Supreme Court of Canada noted that “police officers must be empowered to respond quickly, effectively, and flexibly to the diversity of encounters experienced daily on the front lines of policing”.  This is a classic case of police officers faced with a rapidly evolving situation to which they attempted to respond quickly and effectively.  In Mann, the court recognized a limited power of investigative detention to assist police in carrying out their duties in circumstances such as this.  A police officer may briefly detain an individual for investigative purposes “if there are reasonable grounds to suspect in all the circumstances that the individual is connected to a particular crime and that such a detention is necessary”: at para. 45.  Such a detention will not violate s. 9.  In this case, the trial judge found that when the police initiated the chase and gave the respondent the command to stop, they did not have the requisite reasonable grounds to detain and therefore violated his rights.