A Saanich Police Department officer was fired for “egregiously serious” behaviour that crossed into the realm of “harassment and stalking” his female former partner.
That’s according to the Office of Police Complaint Commissioner’s annual report on substantiated allegations against officers.
“The OPCC received a complaint describing concerns regarding intermittent unwanted contact from a member of the Saanich Police Department (SPD) who was the complainant’s former partner,” reads the report, which does not name the officer who was fired. “The complainant reported that the member approached her outside her home, while in uniform and out of jurisdiction, despite prior requests not to have contact with her, and that she had advised SPD of this incident. Furthermore, the complainant wanted to ascertain by what means the member was aware of her recently updated address.”
The OPCC ordered an investigation of these allegations and found the officer used police resources to track the woman’s locations.
“In addition to the unwanted contact, the investigation revealed that the member had used police databases to run checks on his former partner and members of her family, and subsequently misled the Police Act investigators over the extent to which this had occurred.”
The officer retired prior to being disciplined, but the OPCC report said the service record would reflect he was dismissed.
“The Discipline Authority determined the conduct of the member to be ‘egregiously serious’ and that his actions went beyond passive contact and would otherwise be considered in similar police investigations as harassment or stalking,” said the report. “The Discipline Authority noted that ‘overt acts of stalking in intimate partner violence investigations are considered a significant risk factor, particularly over the course of such a long period of time.
“In addition to this behaviour, the member also undertook 92 unauthorized queries using a police database to provide ongoing information on the activities of his former partner and family. The Discipline Authority found that the member’s behaviour was a ‘marked departure from someone in a position of trust and [that] he used his position for the corrupt practice of stalking his ex-partner and her family members.’ The Discipline Authority ultimately determined that ‘anything other than dismissal would bring the administration of police discipline into disrepute and [would be] contrary to the public interest.’”