Review board deliberating over former Lethbridge police acting chief’s appeal in meme scandal

An Alberta Law Enforcement Review Board is now deliberating on whether sanctions imposed on two Lethbridge police officers were reasonable after an appeal hearing Wednesday.

Const. David Easter and Const. Matthew Rilkoff were demoted in rank for a period of one year after pleading guilty to several misconduct charges for their role in the group chat dubbed the ‘meme militia.’

Formed on the platform WhatsApp, police officers shared texts and photos that were found to contravene Lethbridge Police Service policy, including offensive depictions of other members of the service and society in general – as well as pornography.

1:35 2 Lethbridge police officers demoted after participating in distribution of offensive memes

Former LPS acting Chief Scott Woods filed an appeal of the decision early last year, saying he didn’t feel the punishments were severe enough.

Current LPS Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh countered with a motion to have the appeal dismissed.

The board found four of the five reasons for appeal submitted by Woods to be frivolous, but heard arguments over unreasonable sanctions for the two officers.

Woods submitted the agreed statement of facts presented to the presiding officer in the original case was “a gross misrepresentation of what the investigation showed,” saying the presiding officer wasn’t aware of the scope of the misconduct.

He also said the disciplinary process hasn’t been transparent and details should be made public.

The review board previously ordered the memes and texts be sealed and either returned to Mehdizadeh or destroyed once the appeal process is over.

Easter and Rilkoff’s lawyer Dana Christianson and LPS lawyer Lee Cutforth argued Woods falls short of the burden of proof required to show the sanctions were unreasonable.

2:04 Officers plead guilty in Lethbridge police misconduct hearing involving memes

They said the presiding officer’s decision followed the Amery principles – guidelines for determining appropriate penalties in police disciplinary hearings – adding Woods’ assertions don’t take into account past case law for similar sanctions.

The lawyers said reduction in rank is the second most serious punishment available, after dismissal.

The three-member review panel will issue its decision in writing within the next 60 days.

Three other officers were also charged in connection to the ‘memegate’ scandal.

Sgt. Jason Moulton was dismissed from the force, while Const. Keon Woronuk and Const. Derek Riddel resigned ahead of their hearings.