A pair of B.C. police officers who were detained in Cuba for 10 months will still face a code of conduct investigation, now that they are back in Canada.
Vancouver Police Department (VPD) Const. Mark Simms and Port Moody Police Department (PMPD) Const. Jordan Long arrived home on Saturday, after a Cuban court upheld their acquittal on charges related to an alleged sexual assault.
WATCH: Two B.C. police officers are home after 10 months in detention in Cuba
Simms was accused of having sex with a 17-year-old Ontario girl, while Long had been held as a material witness.
Deputy Police Complaints Commissioner Rollie Woods said they will now face an investigation under the Police Act into their conduct.
WATCH: Lower Mainland cops held in Cuba facing appeal
“An external police force has been appointed to conduct the investigation and an external chief constable will be the discipline authority,” said Woods in an email.
Woods wasn’t immediately able to say which police force would conduct the investigation.
READ MORE: B.C. cops detained in Cuba for 8 months acquitted on sex assault charges
“Our expectation is that a thorough investigation will be conducted that will include any of the investigation material from Cuba if it can be obtained as well as interviews with the young woman who complained to Cuban authorities,” Woods said.
“Also any witnesses who were in Cuba and have relevant evidence and any other witnesses that are identified through the course of the investigation.”
WATCH: B.C. cops waiting to come home after being acquitted in Cuba
Both officers will also be required to give statements, and investigators will have six months to probe the allegations.
READ MORE: Cuban prosecutors appeal acquittal of two Metro Vancouver police officers
Woods said it would be up to the chief constable leading the investigation to determine whether the men can return to regular duty or be reassigned until the matter is concluded.
In a statement issued Saturday, Simms’ and Long’s families thanked supporters, and said the two officers were “innocent victims of a malevolent lie.”
Supporters had maintained the men’s innocence while they were unable to leave Cuba, and said problems with the Cuban legal system, including lack of representation and translation services, had denied them justice.
READ MORE: Family, friends of teen accuser in Cuban sex assault case speak out
The family of the alleged victim maintains that their daughter was drugged while on a high school graduation trip and sexually assaulted.
In a statement to Global News on Saturday, they said they would be taking the case up with local authorities, adding, “We are not done with this yet.”
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