According to a draft statement of claim, Insp. June Dobson was a “long-time close friend” of Gretzky’s late father, Walter, who had gifted her the memorabilia.
At the time of her arrest, Brantford police, the OPP, and the RCMP were in the midst of a three-month investigation after more than US$500,000-worth of Wayne Gretzky memorabilia was stolen from the hockey Hall-of-Famer's father's Brantford home. “The defendants relied solely on statements made by Walter Gretzky, who, by his children’s own admission in police interviews, had at the time been suffering from steadily declining cognitive function for many years, as well as statements made by Walter Gretzky’s children, who had a vested interest in having the Gretzky memorabilia returned.”
The statement of claim said that Dobson’s “wrongful arrest” has left her with “significant physical, psychological, economic and reputational injury.” Among the damages listed, the statement of claim suggests that Dobson's future job prospects, inside and outside of the OPP, were "compromised" because of the attention the criminal proceedings garnered.