Province plans to review Police Act, including disciplinary hearings

The Department of Public Safety plans to review the Police Act "in the very near future," including disciplinary proceedings,a spokesperson told CBC News on Tuesday.

It comes on the heels of news that asenior officer with the Kennebecasis Regional Police Force, who has been suspended with pay for more than four years pending the outcome of a conduct complaint, now plans to retire.

Insp. Jeff Porter was scheduled to face an arbitration hearing before the New Brunswick Police Commission in Fredericton on Oct. 26over allegedsexual harassment and other Police Act offences involving a female civilian employee he supervised.

But his arbitration hearing was adjourned until Dec. 31, the same day his retirement takes effect.

Once an officer retires or resigns, they are no longer considered a police officer and the provincial policing oversight body has no authority to discipline them.

Porter is at least the third officer in recent yearstoretire before facing possible disciplinary action.

Former Saint John Police Force deputy chief Glen McCloskey retired in April 2018, six months before he was scheduled to face an arbitration hearing related to Dennis Oland'sfirst murder trial in 2015 in the bludgeoning death of his father, multimillionaire Richard Oland. Another officer alleged McCloskeyhad urged him not to reveal he had walked through the bloody crime scene. (Oland was found not guilty in 2019 after being retried by judge alone.)

And former KennebecasisRegional Police Forcechief Stephen McIntyre retired in 2016 after an independent investigator found he committed 23 breaches of various sections of the code of conduct by, among other things, failing "to ensure that the improper or unlawful conduct of Insp. Porter was not concealed."

None of the allegations have been proven.

Review of act an 'interesting question'

Asked whether the Department of Public Safety is considering amending the Police Act to ensure officers can't avoid possible disciplinary action by resigning or retiring, spokesperson Coreen Enosdid not answer the question directly.

"The department intends to resume engagement with stakeholders in the very near future on modernizing the Police Act, which will include review of issues such as disciplinary proceedings," she said in an emailed statement,without elaborating.

Jennifer Smith, executive director and CEO of the commission, described the idea as an "interesting question."

"However, the NBPC is not prepared to comment at this time on potential changes to the Police Act," she said.

The commission has offered the department"whatever assistancethey need with respect to opening up the Police Act for review," she added.

Suspension with pay 'vital'

Bob Davidson,executive director of the New Brunswick Police Association, said a stakeholders'committee came up with several "majorchanges" two years ago, such as taking certain powers away from the commission and giving them back to the minister and having mutually agreed upon arbitrators, butthey've been "sitting on a shelf."

One change the associationthat represents the nine municipal force unionsdoesn't want to see is for officers to lose their pay while suspended, said Davidson.

"Suspension with pay is vital to the front-line police officers," who may face false allegations by criminals, which can take years to "expose and defeat,"he said.

"Without it, there would be a major chilling effect," said Davidson. "Your livelihood would be gone. You could not afford to defend yourself under the criminal proceedings and the Police Act proceedings. So your whole life, your whole career will be gone."

Davidson pointed to the case of Saint John Police Force Const. Chris Messer, who faced more than three years of criminal and Police Act matters, including six days in jail,before being cleared.

Officers seek prompt hearings

Officers want prompt hearings, he said. They "don't want a big cloud hanging over their head because they are accused of something."

That's why the association took the position in the stakeholders' committee two years ago that conduct hearings should not be delayed by criminal proceedings, he said.

"If you have proper professional independent investigators and the facts are known, we should have the hearing under the Police Act immediately, not wait around for all the legal manoeuvres and court proceedings that we witnessed with the Messer case, the Porter case [and]the McCloskey case.

"We should be going right away to a hearing under the Police Act to clear these officers or determine if they did something wrong right away."

Porter case a 'one-off'

Davidson described Porter's lengthy case as a "one-off." Uniquecircumstancesdelayed proceedings and saw Porter collecthis estimated annual salary of between$104,000 and$115,000 for four years, he said.

Porter, a 31-year veteran of the force, whichcovers Rothesay and Quispamsis,has been suspended with pay since June 2016, shortly after the female employee filed a written conduct complaint against him.

Porter is a manager and not a member of the union.

An independent investigator hired by the commission found Portercommitted 81 breachesof various sections of the provincial Police Act, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority, corrupt practice and discreditable conduct.

Porter was subsequently accused ofthree more offences related to alleged retaliationagainst the original complainant.

An independent investigator hired by the commission found heviolatedthree sections of the professional code of conduct, includingabuse of authority by harassment/intimidation, discreditable conduct while off duty, and insubordination.

Porter has maintained the allegationsare false.