Three years after Vancouver police officer Const. Nicole Chan took her own life, Global News has learned her family is suing the Vancouver Police Department.
Chan, a nine-year veteran of the force, died by suicide in 2019, two years after coming forward with accusations of inappropriate relationships with two senior officers.
One of those officers, Sgt. Dave Van Patten, was later dismissed from the VPD, while the other, Sgt. Greg McCullough, was given a 15-day suspension and later resigned.
The suit, filed by Chan’s sister and mother, also names those former officers.
“She was just such a proud officer. She was proud of her and she was proud of being able to basically speak out for the victims,” Chan’s sister Jenn told Global News in a 2019 interview.
The claims alleged troubling allegations involving Van Patten, Chan’s human resources officer, and McCullough — both with whom she had sexual relationships.
“Sgt. Van Patten attained Sgt. McCullough’s cellular phone and scrolled through media, wherein he discovered evidence of the intimate relationship between Nicole and Sgt. McCullough,” the suit claims.
It further claims Van Patten “took a video of himself scrolling through the phone for the purpose of threatening to disclose the affair” and that Van Patten “threatened to send the evidence to their spouses “if she did not comply with his demands for sex.”
“I believe that she felt pressured into it and she was not in a good mental state to basically tell them no,” Jenn Chan said. “She felt she couldn’t say no to them.”
The lawsuit also details Chan’s mental health challenges, including her first attempted suicide in 2012 — years before her relationships with Van Patten and McCullough.
It claims the employer “was made aware that Nicole suffered from severe mental distress triggered by intimate relationships” and that “Van Patten knew, or ought to have known, that Nicole was a vulnerable person with a recent history of mental distress related to intimate relationships.”
VPD Chief Const. Adam Palmer has previously described Chan’s suicide as “a tragic set of circumstances.”
“And it’s something that has really rippled through the department and it’s heartbreaking for all of us and we really feel for the Chan family that have to go through the aftermath of this,” he told Global News in a 2019 interview.
The lawsuit alleges Nicole’s suicide was a result of wrongful conduct and workplace culture at the department, which had ineffective guidelines and policies.
The family is seeking general and aggravated damages. Statements of defence have not been filed, and none of the allegations have been proven in court.