Seven years on, officer’s case finally gets hearing

Cave accused of leaking information to civilian about colleague’s career goals

An Edmonton police officer accused of improperly providing information to a civilian about a colleague’s career aspirations is expected to enter a plea later this summer.

The case has dragged on for more than seven years and earned Police Chief Rod Knecht a stern rebuke from the province’s civilian police oversight board for his handling of the disciplinary process.

Const. Darren Cave faces charges of breach of confidence and discreditable conduct under the Police Act. His first appearance Monday lasted just minutes, but an Alberta Court of Appeal decision lays out the allegations in the case.

According to a written copy of the October 2017 decision, then Const. Jim Fermaniuk became alarmed after getting an “irate” voice mail from the father of a man he had pulled over in a routine traffic stop more than seven years earlier. The caller somehow knew that Fermaniuk was up for promotion, and suggested that the officer’s dealings with his son could be an “impediment” to that promotion.

Fermaniuk was worried someone in the police service had disclosed sensitive information about him. Investigators later determined Cave knew the driver’s father, and had revealed to him that Fermaniuk was angling for a promotion.

Knecht, who is responsible for officer discipline, declined to send the matter to a disciplinary hearing after concluding there was little chance one would result in the officer being found guilty due to a shortage of evidence.

Fermaniuk appealed the chief ’s decision to Alberta’s civilian oversight agency for police discipline, the Law Enforcement Review Board (LERB). The board disagreed with Knecht’s assessment of the complaint and ordered the officer be charged and the matter to go to a disciplinary hearing.

Instead, Knecht used another section of the Police Act to wrap up the matter without a hearing by placing an official warning letter in Cave’s disciplinary record.

That prompted Fermaniuk to appeal the decision to the review board a second time, to no avail. The board reluctantly dismissed Fermaniuk’s appeal because it had no power to force the chief to comply.

The appeal court noted the review board was “clearly unimpressed” with the chief ’s decision not to comply with its directions.

“This is the first time of which we are aware that a police chief has decided not to comply with a board decision that he or she has not challenged in the courts,” the review board wrote. “The board can only urge him to comply with (the earlier decision), noting the implications for the public’s faith and confidence in Alberta’s police discipline system if he does not.”

Fermaniuk applied for a judicial review of the chief ’s decision. The justice who heard the application ordered the chief to hold the disciplinary hearing. Knecht appealed that decision, too. The appeal court dismissed Knecht’s appeal, ordering the chief to reimburse Fermaniuk for an undisclosed amount of costs and other expenses.

Fermaniuk later received his promotion but has since left the police service, the decision states.

The appeal court said that much of the delay in the case was due to the parties’ “confusion” about how the Police Act works.

“Long delays in professional discipline proceedings benefit no one,” the appeal court wrote. “Complainants, police forces, police officers, and the public all have a strong interest in quickly resolving claims of police misconduct.”

Cave’s next appearance is set for July 16.