West Vancouver police avoid disciplinary hearing by retiring

Two West Vancouver police officers scheduled to appear at a disciplinary hearing Friday have instead decided to retire, effective Dec. 31, causing the hearing to be cancelled.

Insp. Bob Fontaine and Staff Sgt. Doug Bruce were facing the hearing for their handling of a drunk-driving investigation into fellow officer Const. Lisa Alford.

In their report to the police complaint commissioner, Fontaine and Bruce did not mention that Alford had been drinking at the West Vancouver station the night of the crash.

That sparked anexternal investigation,ordered by the police complaint commissioner in November 2006.

Fontaine and Bruce have since been on stress leave for more than 18 months, while continuing to collect some $300,000 in pay and benefits.

Now Fontaine claims the disciplinary hearing scheduled for Friday has been cancelled andthe allegations thrown out because he is ready to retire.

"My papers have gone in to the chief constable for Dec. 31. And I'm on the payroll until then," he told CBC News on Thursday.

Unfinished business

B.C.'s deputy police complaint commissioner, Bruce Brown, confirmed the hearing has been cancelled, but said he does not know why.

Brown saidthe scheduledhearing was not possiblebecause his office does not haveauthority over retired police officers.

"I think it's unfortunate the discipline proceeding will not take place because it's unfinished business that won't be resolved," said Brown.

West Vancouver police Chief Kash Heed, who was hired in June 2007 to clean up the troubled force after the previous chief was fired, said the allegations against the pair will likely remain on record, albeit unproven in the absence of a hearing.

Recently, Heed called for amendments to the Police Act so that officers ordered to attend disciplinary hearings cannot delay their appearances.

"I'm frustrated," Heed told CBC Newslast week. "If there is evidence or indications that these members can attend, I think they should attend so the matter can be heard once and for all, and a decision can be made on this."

Officer crashed car after drinking at police station

The two officers, Fontaine and Bruce, were criticized for their investigation of a drinking and driving incident in which Const. Lisa Alford crashed her car after drinking at the West Vancouver police station in November 2005.

Alford was arrested with a blood-alcohol level that was more than twice the legal limit at the time of the accident. She later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a one-year driving suspension.

She also faced an internal disciplinary hearing, but the West Vancouver department would not say what punishment she received. However, in November 2006, a spokesman did say Alford was in line for a promotion.

During the internal investigation by Fontaine, hecalled in Bruce for assistance. But Bruce's son was at the party with Alford, leading to allegations of conflict of interest and that the two senior officers botched their investigation.

Fontaine and Bruce then took stress leave and have refused to attend a disciplinary hearing that had been rescheduled twice.

Allegations that four other officers were also drinking at the party shortly before the accident were investigated, but not substantiated by the commissioner.

According to documents obtained last week by the CBC through a freedom-of-information request, in the last two years there were 17 cases of municipal police officers resigning before a disciplinary process was complete.

In nearly half of those cases, the documents indicated the hearings would have recommended the officers should be fired.