Jordan Omstead, Canadian Press
Posted on Monday, April 15, 2024 9:01 pmEDT
Last updated Monday, April 15, 2024 9:03 pmEDT
Criminal charges against Thunder Bay’s former police chief and other senior members have cast further doubt on the credibility of the embattled force in northern Ontario, its current leaders acknowledged Monday as they vowed to rebuild trust in the service.
Chief Darcy Fleury and Police Board President Karen Machado held a joint news conference to address the arrests last week of former Chief Sylvie Hauth and the service’s former in-house counsel in an ongoing misconduct investigation .
“The criminal allegations brought by the Ontario Provincial Police are deeply disturbing,” Machado said. “I understand how these allegations have caused further questions in these institutions and in the policing and oversight system in Thunder Bay.”
Machado promised to act on any allegations of misconduct and ensure supervision meets the “highest standards.”
“We are here today to send a strong message that the alleged incidents of the past are not a reflection of the work being carried out today,” he said.
Chief Darcy Fleury, a former veteran RCMP officer brought in last year after Hauth resigned, said his team is committed to rebuilding trust and providing fair policing to the community.
“I recognize the erosion of trust in our service by some residents and am inspired by the desire of communities to move forward together,” he said. “We are on a healing journey.”
Nishnawbe Aski Nation leaders said, however, that the police chief and board president “failed to recognize the seriousness of the situation.”
“Despite numerous reports, nothing has happened to improve public confidence in TBPS. In fact, the Thunder Bay public, and especially Indigenous people, now have even more reason not to trust the police,” he said Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Deputy Grand Chief. Anna Betty Achneepineskum wrote in a statement to the organization that she represents 49 First Nations.
Scathing oversight reports dating back to 2018 have documented systemic racism in the Thunder Bay police force and described how investigations into sudden deaths of Indigenous people have been tainted by racist attitudes and stereotypes. Several of those investigations were so poorly handled that they had to be reinvestigated.
Other reports have noted how allegations of misconduct that previously involved the board and the police service under Hauth delayed action on recommendations in oversight reports.
The chief and current police board “continue to hold the community accountable for identifying and resolving systemic issues without acknowledging the trauma experienced by our members and communities who have lost loved ones without credible answers or investigations,” the statement said. from NAN read.
Hauth and former in-house counsel Holly Walbourne face charges of obstruction of justice and breach of trust for allegedly making false statements to the police board and the Ontario Civilian Police Commission.
The commission investigated allegations of misconduct in 2022 and charged Hauth under the Police Service Act for allegedly overseeing an improper criminal investigation into the former police board president and then allegedly trying to cover up her involvement, but Hauth resigned. just before she was presented before a police control court.
The commission also investigated allegations that Walbourne had colluded with Hauth in his responses, but the allegations were deemed unfounded. The criminal charges now filed against Walbourne include allegations that he made false or misleading statements to outside counsel who led the commission’s investigation.
As part of the same misconduct investigation, the OPP in December charged Officer Michael Dimini with two counts of assault and one count of breach of trust and obstruction of justice for alleged crimes that took place in 2014, 2016 and 2020.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
When the OPP and civilian police commission began investigating allegations of misconduct under the Hauth government in 2022, an administrator was appointed to lead the police board. In a report of his own, administrator Malcolm Mercer said that much of what had led to the “current situation” had to do with a 2019 promotion of Dimini.
Their report said that Dimini’s promotion had been attributed to favoritism and unfairness on the part of Hauth and Walbourne, both of which were denied.
The report also notes that the board’s president, former Fort William First Nation Chief Georjann Morriseau, believed the investigation into his conduct was retaliation for matters brought before the board, including Dimini’s promotion.
The “broader impact,” Mercer wrote, was that the police board’s work had been affected after two years of distraction and misdirection. She wrote that there had been an “unacceptable delay” in heeding and promoting the recommendations of oversight reports documenting systemic racism on the force.
Meanwhile, some police officers had filed human rights complaints alleging retaliation by Walbourne and Hauth when they raised concerns about Dimini’s alleged misconduct. The claims, which have not been proven, allege that Hauth and Walbourne had a personal relationship with Dimini and allegedly covered up allegations of professional and criminal misconduct on her behalf.
An attorney representing those officers briefly interrupted Monday’s news conference and accused the chief and the board of continuing to defend the force against the complaints.
The police chief later said that “some processes are delayed” because criminal charges had been filed.
“Once all of this is done, we’ll look at where we are and make a decision on what to do next.”