Saskatchewan’s Court of Appeal has dismissed both the conviction appeal and a sentence appeal application from a man found guilty of impersonating a police officer and criminal harassment.
In a decision released following a May 14 hearing, a three-judge panel upheld the 2024 jury conviction of Travis Patron, who confronted a woman and her young daughter outside a Saskatoon hotel, claiming he was a peace officer investigating a possible abduction.
The court rejected Patron’s argument that his trial was unfair, citing his failed attempt to secure a stay of proceedings and a lack of evidence to support his Charter-based claims. The panel also found no merit in Patron’s claim that the Crown failed to prove the child’s parentage, noting the matter was not a required element of the offences.
Patron was self-represented in the appeal.
In December 2024, a jury found Patron guilty of personating a police officer and criminal harassment stemming from the July 2023 incident. Witnesses testified that Patron followed the complainant and her daughter into a hotel and attempted to question them about the child’s identity. Hotel staff intervened to block him from entering further, but he persisted.
The woman testified she found Patron threatening, while her daughter was left extremely distraught. Other witnesses also reported that Patron claimed to be a peace officer and accused the woman of abducting the child.
Patron did not call evidence or make closing arguments during his trial.
He was sentenced to 15 months in prison for criminal harassment and 300 days concurrently for impersonating a peace officer, followed by a year of probation with mandatory counselling and anger management.
In his sentence appeal application, Patron challenged the counselling conditions, arguing there was no evidence to justify them. The court disagreed, pointing to witness accounts of his behaviour as sufficient grounds.
Justice Meghan McCreary wrote the unanimous decision, with Justices Lian Schwann and Keith Kilback concurring.
Related Stories:
- Lloydminster RCMP make several arrests following high-risk warrants
- ‘I was just trying to survive’: Woman in Rosetown trial tearfully details new disturbing allegations