The Lethbridge Police Service says it has sanctioned one of its officers “by way of a reprimand” after an internal probe into a database access case involving a former Alberta cabinet minister.
That investigation led Shahin Mehdizadeh, the chief of Lethbridge’s police department, to find the officer guilty of discreditable conduct and insubordination.
The reprimand is to remain on the officer’s record of discipline for three years, the LPS said in a news release issued Monday.
The LPS said it is not making the officer’s name public.
“As this is a personnel matter, the name of the officer will not be disclosed,” the LPS said.
The investigation stemmed from a police database search connected to the review of a case involving former Alberta MLA Shannon Phillips. In 2017, she was at a coffee shop and speaking with a constituent about a proposed new park. Phillips was environment minister at the time.
The conversation was partly overheard by a Lethbridge police officer who was worried what he heard could impact his pastime: riding on all-terrain vehicles.
He later posted images of the coffee shop meeting on social media with a caption criticizing Phillips and her NDP government. After Phillips filed a complaint with police about the matter, the officer was later convicted of five counts of violating the Police Act in connection with a subsequent investigation by Alberta’s Law Enforcement Review Board (LERB).
The convictions included wrongly subjecting Phillips to a police database search, singling her out for traffic enforcement, misleading supervisors and using his position as an officer for political reasons.
Another Lethbridge police officer was convicted under the Police Act of being an accessory to the other officer’s offences and failing to report them.
In May, Alberta’s police watchdog said the two officers would not face criminal charges in connection with its investigation into the matter even though investigators believed “there were reasonable grounds to believe that two officers had committed criminal offences by accessing Ms. Phillips’ data.”
“The investigative materials concerning two officers were forwarded to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) to determine whether their test for prosecution was met,” the Alberta Serious Incident Response team said in a letter sent to Phillips’ lawyer at the time.
“(The agency) received an opinion back that (the service’s) test for prosecution was not met and therefore these individuals will not be charged.”
In its news release on Monday, the LPS said its internal investigation was conducted “upon the conclusion” of the ASIRT probe.
“Earlier this year, ASIRT exonerated a civilian employee and three officers who were named in Phillips’ original complaint, but noted in their findings there were reasonable grounds to believe that two officers — one who is no longer employed by LPS — may have committed criminal offences by accessing the data,” the LPS said.
“In June, members of the LPS Professional Standards Unit conducted an internal investigation into the conduct of the serving officer. The investigation determined the officer had seen posts on social media involving the former MLA and accessed a file containing her information to determine if there had been any misconduct by LPS personnel related to the posts. After finding no evidence to connect any employees to the posts, there was no further action taken by the officer.”
Mehdizadeh noted the reasons for the search did not excuse or justify the conduct, and that the search was not “in compliance with policy or legitimate instruction from a superior officer in conducting the database inquiry.”
“The chief’s decision was based on evidence gathered by the Professional Standards Unit, including a statement by the officer,” the LPS said. “This information was not available to ASIRT or considered in their findings, as the officer was not required to provide a statement to ASIRT investigators and chose to exercise that right.”
The LPS noted that there is no process to appeal Mehdizadeh’s decision.
“With the exception of a civil suit that remains before the court, the complaints by former MLA Phillips against the LPS are now concluded,” the LPS said.
“LPS has no further comment and there will be no media availability in relation to any of the Phillips’ matters.”
Global News reached out to Phillips for a response to Monday’s development but she said she would not be commenting at this time. In June, she announced she was quitting her career as a politician in part because of what she described as a “coarsening of political discourse in public life.”
The Lethbridge Police Association issued a statement on Monday in response to Mehdizadeh’s decision to sanction an officer.
“With the ASIRT investigation concluded, the chief of police directed the Professional Standards Unit to resume its investigation into any potential misconduct for the only remaining police officer subject to the Police Service Regulations,” the LPA’s statement read in part. “As a result, and for the first time, evidence by way of the officer’s explanatory statement was made available for consideration.
“In possession of this information the chief was able to firmly establish the details behind the database access in question and the actions constituted only a minor contravention of the Police Service Regulation under section 19(1)(b) of that legislation. The officer has been sanctioned with a reprimand and the matter is concluded.”
The LPA statement also raised concerns about other people working at LPS being “accused of conducting illegal activity and this, along with their names, was reported widely prior to any investigation or findings of fact.”
“Most were exonerated early by ASIRT and for those who weren’t immediately cleared the ACPS did not identify criminality or support charges.
“We sat quietly out of respect for the process and in order for the full facts to be established, never thinking it might take seven years for that to happen. Now the facts have been established and, in the end, three officers have been held accountable for misconduct related to two specific and isolated incidents six and seven years ago. Two of those officers are no longer members of the Lethbridge police and the third has just been held accountable with the lone blemish of a minor misconduct on an impeccable career.”
–with files from The Canadian Press