B.C.’s police complaint commissioner has ordered a review into how an officer was disciplined for misconduct, saying it didn’t fit the seriousness of allegations that he made inappropriate sexual advances.
The New Westminster police sergeant was in a supervisory role when he allegedly made the advances toward female employees of the department between 2017 and 2019. In the 2017 instance in particular, he allegedly touched a female coworker without her consent.
The matter was investigated in a disciplinary proceeding by the Vancouver Police Department. In November 2023, the discipline authority found the officer committed two instances of discreditable conduct.
The recommended punishment for the sergeant was a reduction in rank.
According to the Office of the Complaint Commissioner (OPCC), the discipline authority found the officer’s actions were “very serious “and “predatory in nature,” amounting to a “high-range level” of misconduct.
Further, he only accepted “partial responsibility for his actions,” the authority found.
The OPCC has now ordered a review by a retired judge, saying in a statement that the punishment of reduction in rank didn’t address the misconduct and getting the judge’s opinion is in the public interest.
The officer who is the subject of the inquiry isn’t named and a date for the review hasn’t yet been scheduled.
— with files from Global News’ Elizabeth McSheffrey
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