SAANICH, B.C. – British Columbia’s police complaint commissioner says two Vancouver Island officers are alleged to have had inappropriate relationships with sex workers and both left their positions during misconduct investigations.
The substantiated allegations are detailed in the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner’s annual report, which says one officer resigned while the other retired. Neither officer is named
in the report.
The investigation into the Saanich police constable led to several additional allegations that the office says were substantiated, including failing to properly investigate claims that the sex worker was sexually assaulted, beaten and robbed on Jan. 2, 2015.
The officer tried to collect money on behalf of the woman by using coercion and threats, that included the possibility of criminal charges, the report alleges. Crown counsel did not pursue charges, however, the discipline authority recommended dismissal.
On March 20, 2015 – a few months after the officer failed to investigate the complaints – he repeatedly contacted the woman to determine what she had disclosed to police and that prompted his
removal from normal duties, the report says.
It also says the officer made false or misleading statements to Crown counsel.
“The Discipline Authority found the officer’s conduct in relation to these allegations to be inexcusable and put the public at risk, the public confidence in the Saanich police at risk, the reputation of the Saanich police at risk and, in their totality, were grounds for dismissal,” the commissioner’s report says.
The officer resigned during the investigation and chose not to participate in disciplinary proceedings, it says.
Saanich police spokesman Sgt. Jereme Leslie said the same officer was the subject of a separate investigation by the police complaints commissioner.
In the annual report, the commissioner says allegations in the second case were also substantiated. The report says the officer misappropriated funds seized from a confidential source, threatened
to reveal a confidential informant’s status to criminal associates and misled an investigator.
“There are policies to guide our conduct, and the conduct of this former officer, completely disregarded our expectations and were blatant violations of our policies,” Leslie said in a statement.
“The women and men of the Saanich Police Department are committed to our values and the community.
We remain dedicated to earning and maintaining public trust through transparency, accountability, professionalism, and by being responsive to our community’s needs.”
Another case in the annual report says an Oak Bay officer reported that his wallet, which included his police badge, was lost.
The chief constable subsequently received a tip that a member in his department was using the services of a sex trade worker, who had stolen his wallet.
Crown counsel advised there wasn’t enough evidence for criminal charges.
The officer retired during the investigation and did not participate in proceedings, which found that the allegation of discreditable conduct had been proven and proposed his dismissal, the report says.
The Oak Bay Police Department said in a statement there is no indication the officer used the services of a sex trade worker while on duty.
“The behaviour of this police officer does not meet the expectation of the Oak Bay Police Department nor the community at large,” Chief Constable Andy Brinton said in the statement.
“The individual will never be a police officer again.”
Rollie Woods, deputy police complaint commissioner, said it’s not uncommon for officers to retire or resign before disciplinary investigations are complete.
In 2007, he said former justice Josiah Wood of the B.C. Supreme Court found during a review of the police complaints process that officers were leaving their jobs before such proceedings were
complete.
“They’d often continue to collect their salary or stay on the job right until the end,” he said.
“There would be no outcome because as soon as person would leave policing, the jurisdiction (of the disciplining authority) would end.”
As a result, officers could apply to new law enforcement jobs in other jurisdictions with no disciplinary action on their record.
In 2010, he said, the Police Act was amended so that both members and former members would have disciplinary measures reflected on their service records regardless of whether they leave their
positions or participate in disciplinary proceedings.
A retiring officer’s pension cannot be affected by disciplinary action, he said.
“The pension relationship is with the B.C. Pension Corporation, the Police Act matters have no impact or influence on police officers’ pensions,” Woods added.