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Police chief says SSMPS will look at more serious charges for opioid dealers

Comments follow alleged assault on city police officer with bag of fentanyl
2017-04-28 Sault Police Patch DMH-1
File photo. Donna Hopper/SooToday

Sault Ste. Marie Police Service (SSMPS) Chief Hugh Stevenson says his police service will “aggressively” look at charging opioid dealers with more serious criminal offences after a Sudbury man allegedly spread fentanyl powder on the vest of a city police officer this past December.

“I have not wavered from my stance when it comes to people distributing dangerous narcotics in our community,” Stevenson told SooToday via email statement. “We will aggressively investigate those individuals and use the full power of law to lay more severe charges on those who are found to be involved in the drug trade in Sault Ste. Marie.”

On Dec. 20 of last year, 36-year-old Steven Savard of Sudbury was arrested by officers with the SSMPS crime suppression unit for possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

A subsequent search of the vehicle belonging to the accused yielded 18 grams of fentanyl, with an estimated street value of $10,800.  

Packaging material, a digital scale, pepper spray and a shotgun were also seized in the search.

On top of the trafficking charge, Savard was also charged with one count of unauthorized possession of a firearm, one count of knowingly possessing an unauthorized firearm and one count of possession of a firearm contrary to probation order.

During his arrest, Savard allegedly ripped open a bag of fentanyl intentionally - which was then spread on the vest of a city police officer.

A swab of the officer’s vest was sent to Health Canada for analysis.

The test results came back positive for fentanyl.

On Tuesday, Savard was charged again - this time, with two counts of mischief endangering life.

He was held for bail court.

“In this case, the accused endangered our officers by allegedly spreading fentanyl powder onto the officers who arrested him for the purpose of injuring them. The powder was spread onto our officers’ vest,” Stevenson said. “The accused put our people at risk and we will deal with situations like that in a serious way.”

“We will not tolerate the health and safety of our people being put in jeopardy in any way.”

Stevenson says that SSMPS is now looking at throwing more charges at opioid dealers on top of possession and trafficking charges.  

“Our message as a Police Service is very clear. If you’re involved in opioid distribution in this community you can expect that you’re going to face not only possession and trafficking charges, but we are aggressively looking at more serious criminal offences that involved negligence.”


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James Hopkin

About the Author: James Hopkin

James Hopkin is a reporter for SooToday in Sault Ste. Marie
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