Lethbridge officer searched Shannon Phillips on database after overhearing 'tail end' of conversation: report

Jason Markusoff · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 4:37 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

A Lethbridge constabulary serviceman who utilized a constabulary database to hunt for erstwhile Alberta situation curate Shannon Phillips’s backstage accusation claimed to authorities helium did truthful due to the fact that of thing helium partially overheard chap officers saying, connected apical of what an informant claimed they’d overheard the person say.

This serviceman was 1 of 3 Lethbridge Police Service members that Alberta’s constabulary watchdog recommended should beryllium charged criminally for unauthorized constabulary machine usage and breach of spot successful Phillips’s case, according to a study released Thursday by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT).

The 3 men were ne'er charged, however, due to the fact that provincial Crown prosecutors decided nary charges should beryllium laid.

The ASIRT study doesn’t sanction the 3 constables, but CBC News has antecedently reported they are Keon Woronuk, Derek Riddell and Joel Odorski.

Woronuk and Riddell resigned from the unit successful 2021, pursuing a abstracted disciplinary issue. Lethbridge constabulary confirmed that Odorski remains with the force.

Phillips, who resigned arsenic Lethbridge-West MLA past year, said successful an interrogation that the ASIRT report’s long-awaited merchandise marks the “end of the line” for this signifier successful her quest for accountability for Lethbridge constabulary actions involving her.

That quest began much than 8 years ago, erstwhile uniformed officers were sitting adjacent to her and guests astatine a diner successful the southwest Alberta metropolis successful 2017, and Woronuk surreptitiously photographed her, posted images anonymously online and queried her guest's licence sheet successful an interior constabulary database.

Phillips said she volition proceed with a $400,000 suit filed against respective Lethbridge Police Service members for penetration of her privacy, and immoderate details from the ASIRT probe whitethorn pass her case.

WATCH | Alberta MLA softly monitored by section constabulary (from 2021):

While determination were nary prosecutions, 3 officers were yet convicted of Police Act offences successful disciplinary proceedings. Woronuk and Sgt. Jason Carrier were demoted for their surveillance astatine the diner, and the third, Odorski, received a reprimand past year. (Carrier was not a taxable of the ASIRT investigation.)

It’s a “completely unsatisfying” outcome, Phillips told CBC News.

“There was precise small successful the mode of accountability,” the erstwhile curate said.

“And the connection that that sends to the nationalist is that those systems don't truly work. And if they don't enactment for idiosyncratic who tin speech to the nationalist media, for idiosyncratic who could basal up successful the legislature and springiness statements, past they're astir apt not going to enactment for mean radical either.”

ASIRT had informed Phillips and Lethbridge constabulary backmost successful May 2024 that the bureau had recommended charges but that nary would beryllium laid, and that the afloat study into suspicious database searches of the ex-minister would beryllium coming retired soon.

It took astir 18 months for the provincial bureau to merchandise the papers to Phillips and the public.

She already knew astir about of its findings done a past Freedom of Information petition that revealed respective interior database searches of her sanction implicit aggregate years.

“That’s 1 thing. To spot it written down successful achromatic and achromatic is rather another,” she said of the ASIRT report.

ASIRT’s probe looked astatine the 2017 diner incidental and 9 abstracted constabulary database searches of Phillips implicit the people of 2018. They were conducted by six antithetic officers and 2 civilian constabulary staff.

The agency’s study clears astir of the officers, concluding that the bulk of the searches were “done successful the lawful execution of their duties.”

However, 3 instances did springiness ASIRT “reasonable grounds to judge that the transgression offences of unauthorized usage of machine and breach of spot were committed.”

They are:

Woronuk

Woronuk, 1 of the officers sitting astatine a array down Phillips astatine the diner successful April 2017, mused aft leaving “about issuing [Phillips] a postulation summons if helium knew what benignant of car she drove,” the study states. Woronuk aboriginal queried the licence sheet of her eating companion and sent an representation of the information terminal results to a colleague. 

Odorski

In March 2018, Odorski utilized an in-car information terminal to hunt Phillips’s name.

Riddell

In November 2018, Riddell looked up Phillips’s sanction from a machine successful the constabulary precinct’s short-term holding facility. He told ASIRT successful a written connection that a confidential informant told him that Phillips had been “overheard bragging astir having LPS ‘in her backmost pocket,’ and however she had ‘gotten retired of being charged astatine immoderate point,’” the study states.

He told investigators helium combined that with “previously overhearing the process extremity of a conversation” with different officers that helium surmised was astir Phillips and a Lethbridge constabulary matter, and that led him to look her up connected the database.

After his database query connected Phillips, Riddell did not unfastened immoderate reports related to her. He told ASIRT successful his connection “he believed helium was distracted by immoderate different tasks and abandoned the search.”

Years later, Riddell apologized to Lethbridge Police Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh by email for utilizing the constabulary database to hunt the politician’s name, “and indicated helium had done truthful retired of curiosity,” according to the report.

Most Lethbridge officers investigated for database searches of Phillips were cleared successful ASIRT's invesigation. (Sarah Lawrynuik/CBC)

Lethbridge Police declined to remark Thursday aft the report’s release. ASIRT had informed the constabulary — and Phillips — of the investigation’s findings successful May 2024, which led to the interior probe into Odorski’s behaviour and consequent reprimand that October.

When the constabulary unit announced that discipline, it stated that “the complaints by erstwhile MLA Phillips against the LPS are present concluded.”

ASIRT provided nary mentation arsenic to wherefore it took astir 18 months to merchandise the study aft its probe concluded. It was written by acting enforcement manager Matthew Block, who took implicit arsenic caput of ASIRT successful July.

As situation curate with the erstwhile NDP government, Phillips led efforts to restrict off-road conveyance usage and make a provincial parkland successful the Castle area, astir 90 minutes southwest of Lethbridge.

When she was surreptitiously photographed astatine the edifice by police, she was eating with a noted environmentalist and his wife, though to sermon an unrelated substance successful Banff National Park.

Woronuk was progressive successful the off-roading community, arsenic was diner companion Carrier — who was demoted for his behaviour but was not among the officers ASIRT recommended for charges.

Woronuk has admitted his actions were motivated by his idiosyncratic and governmental views.

Last year, aft Odorski’s reprimand, the president of Lethbridge’s constabulary national called his breach a “minor contravention.”