There has been a major change, for the time being, at the Edmonton Police Association.
As of Wednesday, Bob Walsh has taken over as interim president, replacing the suspended Maurice Brodeur.
“He has been removed, as per our bylaws,” Walsh explained. “They state we can remove an individual executive from the board while there’s an investigation going on in regard to some infractions in the bylaws.”
Walsh said Brodeur was relieved of his duties as president after the association received numerous complaints.
“There are two separate infractions in the allegations against him right now. One, generally, is that he is to report to the executive of the association on issues. The other is in regard to wilfully engaging in conduct that’s detrimental to the reputation of the association or its members.”
Brodeur now has 30 days to respond to the complaints and to provide his version of what the allegations entail.
READ MORE: Edmonton police union calls for investigation into ‘toxic culture of fear’
In late July, Brodeur held a news conference to release the findings of a member survey conducted by the association, the union that represents 1,850 sworn police officers.
He said 60 per cent of EPA’s members completed the survey and 80 per cent said they feel like they work in a culture of fear and blame, driven from the top down. Brodeur said the results of the survey suggest a “psychologically unsafe workplace.”
Brodeur called for an investigation into what it calls “the culture of fear and blame” in the Edmonton Police Service.
Police Chief Rod Knecht said he doesn’t believe there is a “culture of fear” in the service. He also said the senior officers’ association – another police union – doesn’t believe there is one either.
“We invest heavily in these people over their career… We don’t want to lose them, but there is a standard,” Knecht said on July 26.
However, he said if the police association feels an independent investigation is necessary, he “welcomes any such review.”
The chief said there were 1,319 formal complaints – internal and from the public – about police last year. Every single one was investigated, Knecht said. Out of those 1,319, 1.4 per cent resulted in disciplinary hearings. Only one EPS member was fired in 2015, the chief said.
Randy Kilburn, 630 CHED, with files from Emily Mertz, Global News
Watch below: Raw video of Edmonton police chief responding to union’s comments
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