Public inquiry requested on whistleblowers, reports of police misconduct
By Tim Kalinowski on September 30, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com An attorney for both MLA Shannon Phillips and an unnamed member of the media is asking the Lethbridge Police Commission to hold a public inquiry about how the Lethbridge Police Service deals with whistleblowers.Michael Bates appeared virtually at the Police Commission meeting on Wednesday to ask for the public inquiry, and to request formal answers to several other questions surrounding reports of police misconduct at the LPS.
“Are LPS personnel operating in a safe and respectful workplace as required by law?” Bates asked. “And two, what about the current policing culture when you have an employee who feels subjected to a sexist or misogynist environment be unwilling or unable to bring forward their concerns? Except by way of an anonymous letter to an outsider?
“Does the Commission have a process to facilitate whistleblower disclosures by LPS personnel? And second, is the Commission in a position to advise today if they will be notifying the Minister of Justice of an intention to commence an inquiry pursuant to Section 32 of the Police Act based on the letters submitted on behalf of my two clients on Sept. 27, 2021?”
Bates said his request for a public inquiry on behalf of his clients was based on two whistleblower disclosures they received earlier this summer.
“There is a request now been made on behalf of my clients pursuant to Sections 32 of the Police Act for a public inquiry into circumstances surrounding two anonymous whistleblower disclosures apparently within the LPS of June of this year,” he confirmed.
Bates did not get into the details of the disclosures but asked to other formal questions of commissioners based on the confidential disclosures he sent to the Lethbridge Police Commission.
“In one of the disclosures there is a suggestion of a potential plan to retaliation against a named member of the professional media as well as a sitting member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for what can be inferred as having sought public accountability of the Lethbridge Police Service,” Bates stated. “So my first question for the Commission would be: Does the Commission have any policies or policing standards which direct the Chief of Police to protect citizens, or members of the media in particular, who are seeking public accountability from potential retaliation against them by members of the Lethbridge Police Service?”
“Another aspect of the disclosures suggest what I would characterize as an extremely derogatory personal political opinion of Lethbridge Police officers is something which may currently influence how a complainant is treated within the LPS,” he added. “In the July 9, 2020 disciplinary decision of retired Superintendent Paul Manuel regarding LPS Sgt. Carrier and Const. Woronuk, Superintendent Manuel wrote, ‘A police officer should never use their office as a means to advance their personal agenda,’ and speaking specifically in the context of political views. So my second question for the Commission would be what steps, if any, have been taken since July of 2020 when that decision was issued to eliminate differential treatment of citizens by LPS officers based on their political views?”
Carrier and Woronuk both admitted to an unauthorized surveillance of Phillips and other she was meeting with when she was Environment Minister, and were disciplined for it. But Phillips was never informed about the disciplinary hearing for the officers until it was publicly disclosed in the media after the fact despite being specifically targeted. Phillips appealed the disciplinary decision last September, which she felt was too lenient, and the decision to exclude her from the proceedings to the Law Enforcement Review Board. This appeal was contested by the LPS, but Phillips ultimately won the right to a new hearing. Earlier this week she won a second appeal at the LERB to receive confidential disclosures from the senior officers who initially evaluated the case against Woronuk and Carrier.
Bates also asked the Police Commission in the context of protection of whistleblowers within the police force about the treatment of victims of sexual assault who come forward seeking justice.
“Another aspect of the disclosures raises concerns about mistreatment of sexual assault survivors and victims of human trafficking,” he confirmed. “So my third question for the Commission is therefore: has the LPS received direction from the Commission through the Chief of Police to ensure that sexual assault survivors, and in particular sex trade workers, are treated with dignity and respect at all times within the LPS?”
Police Commission chair Robert VanSpronsen told Bates he did not have the answers to his questions ready for Wednesday’s meeting, but would seek those answers prior to the next Police Commission meeting in October. VanSpronsen also confirmed the Commission would likely make a decision on whether or not to grant a public hearing on protections for whistleblowers in the LPS by that meeting, as requested by Bates on behalf of his clients. Follow @TimKalHerald on Twitter 4
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