Veteran Crown attorney dies of COVID-19

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COVID-19 has claimed the life of a popular, respected veteran Crown attorney.

Sandy Tse, 61, who has been battling COVID-19 for the past month and was on a ventilator, died Monday, leaving behind his wife, Sheila Bruce, a family law lawyer and three daughters, Rianne, Emma and Maura.

Tse was a Crown for more than 35 years, starting as an articling student at Crown Law Office – Criminal in ’84-85 with a promising group of other students, including director of Crown operations Fred Braley and Ontario Superior Court, Justice Faye McWatt.

After his call to the bar, Tse worked in and served as acting Crown Attorney in Newmarket.

Two of his prominent cases involved the prosecution of Const. Rick Shank for the Easter Sunday 1997 shooting death of drug dealer Hugh Dawson in Scarborough and controversial NHL agent and junior hockey coach David Frost for sexual exploitation in 2008 in Napanee. Both cases resulted in acquittals.

Tse worked until his retirement at the end of 2019 and then started working for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, where he remained until he checked into hospital in late March.

“Sandy’s contributions to the development of the criminal law were extraordinary,” wrote Susan Kyle, an assistant Deputy Attorney General, in an email breaking the news to saddened colleagues and friends. “He was a nationally recognized expert in the law of search and seizure, electronic surveillance, and lawful justification.”

Kyle said Tse’s widow has kept in close contact with her husband’s friends and colleagues during his last weeks.

“Sandy’s family meant the world to him, and their loss is impossible to comprehend,” wrote Kyle.

“Sandy was a highly respected, well-liked member of the Crown association,” said Tony Loparco, president of Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association. “He’ll be greatly missed.”

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Loparco said he knows of  no other Crown in Ontario who has died from the pandemic.

The Sun reported Tse’s illness along with another Crown with Gun and Gang Task Force, identifying Tse as “Nick Leonard,” a pseudonym he created as an ardent Raptors fan by using the names of Toronto’s coach and 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.

In Tse’s attending doctor’s blog, the physician wrote that Tse was “the healthiest COVID-19 patient he had ever seen, with no underlying health conditions.” Tse played tennis three times a week and worked out at least once a week on an aerobic machine.

spazzano@postmedia.com