An Abbotsford Police officer who was still in his probationary period resigned earlier this year after soliciting a sex-trade worker, according to the quarterly review from the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC).
The report is an overview of the files that the OPCC opened or concluded between July 1 and Sept. 30 of this year, including allegations that it was able to substantiate.
Among these was an incident reported from April 6, 2016 that an Abbotsford Police member “entered into a conversation with a sex trade worker in relation to obtaining sexual services.”
The file indicates that on April 8, the officer – who is not named in the report – lied in several statements to a professional standards investigator who was looking into that incident.
The OPCC concluded that the officer committed discreditable conduct and deceit, and should be dismissed from his job, but the individual instead resigned.
Sgt. Judy Bird of the Abbotsford Police Department said she could not provide any specifics on the incident in question.
“This dismissal is a labour matter and, therefore, we are unable to comment further,” she said.
Bird said the incident is not being investigated as a criminal matter.
The OPCC does not lay or recommend criminal charges but looks for infractions under the Police Act. Officers who are determined to have committed any wrongdoing under the act face disciplinary measures that range from a written reprimand to a suspension or firing.
The OPCC applies only to municipal police departments, including those in Abbotsford, Delta, New Westminster, Victoria and Vancouver.
The quarterly review indicates that 28 files were opened in Abbotsford between July 1 and Sept. 30, compared to 167 in Vancouver, 41 in Victoria, and 17 each in New Westminster and Delta.
The OPCC posts the statistical reports on its website four times year.
