Suspended Fredericton police officer still getting paid

FREDERICTON – A hearing to determine the fate of a Fredericton police officer who has been suspended with pay for the past four years has been delayed.

A Court of Queen’s Bench justice was scheduled to hear an application Thursday for a judicial review of a New Brunswick Police Commission decision to reject the city police force’s request to file a second complaint against Const. Jason Schriver.

However, an official with the court services office said Wednesday the hearing has been adjourned and a new date has yet to be set.

Schriver was charged with illegally obtaining a computer service from the Canadian Police Information Centre in 2006 by running a licence plate check for an acquaintance without proper authority.

The vehicle checked was an undercover RCMP car being used as part of Operation Jellybean, a two-year, joint-forces investigation into the illegal trade of drugs and steroids in the Fredericton area.

Schriver pleaded guilty to the charge in provincial court and was given a conditional discharge in December 2008 for the offence.

He was suspended from duty with pay in January 2007, and that remains his employment status today.

Following the provincial court matter, the Fredericton Police Force filed a Police Act charge against Schriver, but an arbitrator ruled he lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, bringing that matter to a halt.

As a result, the police force tried to file another complaint against Schriver, but police commission chairman Peter Seheult rejected it.

Having a police officer off the job and collecting a paycheque for so long has become a contentious issue for city hall.

Mayor Brad Woodside has said he wants the matter resolved, and the police union has been pushing for Schriver to be returned to active duty.

"It doesn’t make any sense hiring a couple of police officers when we have somebody sitting home that long," Woodside said at a November council meeting.

"Either get him back to work or let him go."