REGINA – A senior member of the Regina Police Service (RPS) has been placed on administrative leave following an allegation of “discreditable conduct and neglect of duty” and subsequent investigation by the Public Complaints Commission (PCC).
“This file and the manner in which it was made public, have the potential to affect public trust and confidence in the Regina Police Service,” Chief of Police Troy Hagen said in a release.
The matter was brought to the attention of police by the PCC, which had launched its own investigation after receiving a complaint that an RPS member had wrongfully accessed surveillance video from a local mall.
Andrea MacMurray, the woman who lodged the complaint, alleges that these actions resulted in her family being expelled from the Regina Optimist Dolphin Swim club (RODS).
Concerned about a lack of transparency in regards to the club’s financials, last November MacMurray sent an anonymous fax to the club’s auditor. The fax was sent from the Cornwall Centre mall.
A month later, MacMurray says she was told by club management that they had viewed surveillance video that confirmed she had sent the fax. Then in January, she received a letter from the club informing her that sending the fax was a breach of the club’s code of conduct, and that her family was being removed from the club.
Concerned about how the club had accessed the surveillance video, MacMurray first approached the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. She says she was told by an investigator that the video had been viewed by a member of the RPS.
“I was absolutely stunned when they told me they saw surveillance from the Cornwall mall,” MacMurray said. “The first thing that comes to mind – how did you get that?”
That’s when she brought the matter to the Public Complaints Commission.
Now, a review of those investigations lies with Chief Hagen. The matter is not being pursued as a criminal investigation, but rather as a potential violation of the Municipal Police Discipline Regulations.
“I have high expectations of our senior people in the organization,” Hagen told reporters Tuesday. “There’s a higher threshold, I think, the more experienced you are, and with that comes, I think, greater responsibility in terms of professional conduct.”
The RPS has not revealed the name of the member involved, though MacMurray alleges that the member is a relative of someone involved in RODS.
RODS issued a statement late Tuesday afternoon stating that the board “has consistently welcomed and responded to direct enquiries (sic) regarding club operations from its membership.” (Full statement below.)
MacMurray is asking for her family to be reinstated as RODS members, a formal apology from the club, and for the club’s two investigating board members to be removed from their positions.
Full statement from Regina Optimist Dolphin Swim Club:
“To Whom It May Concern:
The Regina Optimist Dolphin Swim Club (RODS) is a not-for-profit organization, and as mandated by the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act provides audited financial statements on an annual basis to its members and the public. The RODS Board has consistently welcomed and responded to direct enquiries regarding club operations from its membership.
We are not, nor have we ever been, under investigation. Outside of this, the Board is not prepared at this time to publicly discuss what we consider to be a private matter, particularly when the ex-member involved is complaining about her privacy interests being intruded upon.
Board of Directors,
Regina Optimist Dolphin Swim Club”
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