Complaint lodged over Victoria Police Board's handling of investigation into former chief

A retired Victoria Police officer says the Victoria Police Board mishandled spending related to the investigation of former police chief Frank Elsner.

Elsner was suspended with pay in 2016.

He faced multiple allegations of misconduct including exchanging inappropriate messages on Twitter with asubordinate Victoria Police officer (the spouse of another officer), attempting to influence a witness, and attempting to delete information from Victoria Police computers.

Elsner who resigned May, 18 faces an ongoing disciplinary process.

In a complaint to the B.C. Director of Police Services, Sgt. Darren Laur alleged the Victoria Police Board used money from the department's operational budget to pay for Elsner's legal costs and for a media crisis consultant to deal with the fallout.

Laur who retired from the force last year said he believes the spending should have been approved bycity council under the rules of the Police Act, which he says didn't happen.

"It just didn't seem right to me that all of a sudden they could be funneling money out of an operational budget that affects me and my team that was working the streets both in Victoria and Esquimalt," he said.

Listen to Darren Laur's interview on CBC's On the Island:

Clayton Pecknold, the director of police services, says he has received Laur's complaint and is giving the matter "his due consideration."

The police board has said it will release the cost of the investigation and legal fees once the matter is over.