A retired judge will look at a decision that found Victoria’s police chief guilty of discreditable conduct.
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner said Friday it will hold a review on record, which is a public meeting that takes another look at the decision.
Former judge Alan Filmer will review the decision. A date has not been set.
The finding of discreditable conduct against police Chief Jamie Graham stemmed from a security conference in November 2009 where Graham said he had an officer driving a busload of Olympic protesters over to Vancouver for to the 2010 Olympic torch run.
Victoria resident Bruce Dean complained, saying the comment jeopardized the undercover officer’s safety. It has never been proven whether an officer was, in fact, driving the bus.
An investigation by RCMP Chief Superintendent Rick Taylor found Dean’s allegations against Graham were substantiated. Those findings were forwarded to Victoria police board chair Dean Fortin (also mayor of Victoria).
Fortin, as board chair and discipline authority over Graham, found Graham guilty of discreditable conduct in April 2011 and issued him with a written reprimand.
Soon thereafter, Graham asked the OPCC for a review, while Dean asked for a public hearing.
“(Potentially) outing an undercover officer deserves worse than a letter,” Dean said in an interview with the ****News. “As soon as I heard what he did, I said, ‘Wait a minute, he can’t make jokes about outing an undercover officer.’”
Dean said he hopes people attend the review and that Filmer finds “errors” in the investigation process.
“Well, to me, the biggest thing is it’s shameful (Graham is appealing the finding). Every single time he’s avoided accountability on it. He’s wasting taxpayers money by not saying, ‘OK, I’m wrong.’ What kind of role model is he for children, what kind of role model is he for his department?”
Deputy police complaint commissioner Rollie Woods said, “A review on the record is a quicker, less expensive adjudicative avenue to take.”
Woods said in his review, Filmer will look at the reports submitted on the issue and can call for submissions from Graham and Dean, rather than presiding over a “full-blown hearing” with witnesses and a trial.
Police complaint commissioner Stan Lowe said in a report the review on the record is necessary in the public’s interest.
Graham did not return phone calls to the news. VicPD spokesman Const. Mike Russell said the department would not comment on the issue until the process was complete.
