A senior member of Quebec’s provincial police force has lost his job after allegedly using security cameras at the province’s National Assembly to spy on people in nearby hotel rooms.
In a written decision published (in French) on Tuesday, Quebec’s Police Ethics Committee outlined how Sgt. Stéphane Demers allegedly spied on people staying at the Delta and Hilton hotels. Both hotels are in close proximity to the provincial legislature in Quebec City, where Demers worked for a period of time.
Demers abused his power, intruded on the privacy of others and disrespected the rule of law, the report states. No criminal charges have been laid, however.
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The intrusions occurred between 2010 and 2012 while Demers was assigned to the Assembly, the report said. During the overnight shifts, he was the highest ranking officer on site.
He is accused of using security cameras to peer into, and zoom in on, rooms at the hotels when he could see that people were inside and had the blinds open.
“Even if the camera did not allow him to discern the identities of the occupants because of poor image quality, he could at least make out some of their physical characteristics and their interactions,” the committee’s decision notes.
Witnesses told the committee that Demers’ intention seemed to be to find people who were nude and/or engaged in sexual activity.
The 25-year veteran of the force was approached by his colleagues about his behaviour, the document adds, and admitted that he had being spying on the hotels. But he felt it wasn’t a serious problem.
Several people told the ethics committee they were uncomfortable with Demers’ behaviour, but didn’t feel they could report it for fear of losing their own jobs.
A 16-day suspension was initially recommended in the case, but the committee ultimately ruled Demers should be fired from his job, calling his actions “extremely serious” and “scandalous.”
Demers had no previous disciplinary problems with the Sûreté du Québec, and even received a medal for 20 years of exemplary service on the force.