The new Winnipeg Police Board chair says a city councillor who did not pass a Winnipeg Police Service criminal background check after her appointment is not a member of the board.
“At this point in time, Coun. (Vivian) Santos is not a board member of the Winnipeg Police Board,” board chair Coun. Markus Chambers said. “She was appointed by nomination of council, but that was subject to her passing a criminal background check, which did not come back positive.”
Vivian Santos, Point Douglas councillor, first spoke out about the failed security check July 14, first offering to resign, then reconsidering.
“Any replacement would need to be nominated and voted on by city council,” Santos said in a three-page statement addressing her board appointment and the police background check process.
She said at the time she knew of no reason why she would have failed and that police would not tell her.
Chambers statement clarifies the situation, regarding her position on the board.
Santos and her husband were at one point under police surveillance amid a drug investigation, police sources told Global News earlier this week.
“I am disturbed that confidential information was released to the media and find this to be a violation of my family’s privacy,” she said in a statement.
A now-former family friend was later charged with drug trafficking in connection with the investigation.
Santos has repeatedly said she and her husband had no knowledge of any criminal activity.
“I have never been arrested, nor have I nor my husband have ever been charged or convicted of any crime. We have no criminal records. Upon requests for an explanation, I was never provided with a reason for this failure,” Santos said in her statement about the background check.
Santos said she plans to continue asking hard questions as a city councillor.
“I will continue to advocate for inclusion, equality, dignity and human rights as a city councillor no matter what, on the Winnipeg Police Board or elsewhere,” she said.
Santos also questioned whether Winnipeg police should be conducting background checks on people appointed to the board meant to oversee the service, saying she’s encouraged by a motion put forward by Chambers at city council Thursday that will see the city review how background checks are conducted.
— With files from Malika Karim and Brittany Greenslade