One day after anti-racism protesters targeted his and his wife’s home, the police chief in Delta, B.C., has broken his silence on allegations of racism and assault made against his wife.
In a statement posted online, Neil Dubord said he has not been involved in any way with the investigation into what happened.
“I want to say unreservedly that the matter at hand in no way reflects the values and commitment to the community of the officers of the Delta Police Department, nor my own values,” Dubord wrote.
He said he wanted to note “out of respect for our office” that the complaint does not involve a member of the department.
“I also recognize that I personally, and our department need to continue to listen, learn, and improve,” he said.
Back on June 6, schoolteacher Kiran Sidhu told Global News that she had climbed the rocks in front of a home to escape a rising tide at Centennial Beach.
When she touched a fence on the property, she alleges Dubord’s wife, Lorraine, yelled at her, compared her to a beached whale, and told her to go back where she came from. She also alleges that the woman sprayed her in the face with a hose.
Surrey RCMP are now investigating as an external police agency, after Sidhu said she was not happy with Delta’s initial investigation and complained.
Lorraine Dubord has since issued an apology in the Delta Optimist for “the way the situation was handled.”
Neither Neil nor Lorraine have given any interviews to the media about the incident.
On Sunday, a group of people carrying signs with anti-racism messages gathered outside the Dubord home.
“You’re a human being. You don’t deserve to be sprayed in the face because you’re on rocks in front of somebody’s house that they don’t own,” one of the protesters, Angelina Delmar, told Global News.
A statement was also issued by Deputy Chief Norm Lipinski on Monday, inviting people to submit questions ahead of Tuesday’s police board meeting.
He explained how the complaint was handled, and how it was elevated to a supervisor and a senior manager.
When the complainant indicated she was not satisfied with the findings, Lipinski said, the department immediately asked the RCMP to conduct a review and “take any other investigative steps they deem warranted.”
The Delta Police Board open meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 30, at 9 a.m.
– with files from Simon Little