A 20-year-veteran of the Moose Jaw Police Service is appealing his dismissal after being fired by the service’s police chief last year for alleged misconduct.
According to court documents, Alan Murdock was fired within a month of being put on probation.
The former constable consented to being placed on 12 months’ probation on May 22, 2019 for neglect of duty. Part of the agreement was that he would be closely supervised for six months.
Nine days later, Murdock was accused of violating the Privacy Act multiple times, say court documents.
“Alan Murdock was given a direct order by a superior officer as a means to contain the breaches of privacy. Alan Murdock disobeyed the direct order on the same day,” reads evidence presented by Moose Jaw Police Chief Rick Bourassa to the Ministry of Justice.
Murdock was dismissed on June 19, the same day he allegedly “provided misleading, false and inaccurate statements to the interviewer in an internal investigation regarding his misconduct.”
The former constable is challenging the allegations by appealing his dismissal.
It remains unclear what, specifically, led to Murdock’s firing, but when asked if criminal charges could stem from this, Bourassa told Global News “it could be possible, everything is possible.”
Bourassa declined to comment further in order to maintain a fair process.
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“I’m just going to respect the process. I cannot really speak to anything. I’ll let it run its course,” Bourassa said.
Under the Police Act, a chief can dismiss a member if their conduct becomes unsuitable for police service.
Bourassa had challenged Murdock’s appeal of his dismissal, citing that he was on probation. The Police Act states an officer who is fired while on probation cannot appeal the decision to a hearing or review officer.
However, hearing officer Jay Watson ruled this only applies to new officers who are serving an initial period of probation and does not include officers who have already passed their initial probation.
Murdock’s disciplinary hearing has been scheduled for three weeks starting on Aug. 31. Murdock, who previously hired lawyer Aaron Fox, has chosen to represent himself.
The hearing will be open to the public.
On September 4th, an application for a further adjournment made by Alan Murdock was heard in a public conference call, where hearing officer Jay Watson granted the motion.
The hearing has now been pushed to the morning of October 6th.
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