The president of the Ottawa Police Association, Matthew Skof, has been charged by the OPP with breach of trust and obstruction of justice, the provincial police force announced on Wednesday.
The union head’s arrest follows an OPP investigation into leaked audio recordings that “surfaced on social media” last summer, Ottawa police said in a statement.
The Ottawa Police Service said Skof has been suspended from the force and that it would not comment further because the case is before the courts.
The Ottawa Police Association acknowledged the arrest of their president and the charges laid against him in a brief statement on Wednesday.
“We have no further comments at this time and we respect the judicial process,” said the statement, attributed to the association’s board of directors.
Last July, Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau announced that he had asked the OPP to look into the recordings and their source.
“The fact that this false information is being released and distributed has prompted me to launch a chief’s complaint,” Bordeleau said at the time.
“That investigation will be focused directly on the origins of the recordings and the individuals involved.”
Media reports have said the recordings include discussions about an apparent police investigation as well as allegations against the then-head of Ottawa’s police board.
Skof was arrested and charged under the Criminal Code of Canada by members of the OPP’s professional standards bureau on Wednesday, according to an OPP news release. The OPP’s statement did not explain why Skof had been arrested and charged.
OPP Staff Sgt. Carolle Dionne said Skof was released on a promise to appear in court in Ottawa on March 8.
– With files from The Canadian Press