National Post (National Edition)
Town sorry for harassment of police chief
Vilification campaign by his own officers
MONTREAL • After 30 years investigating crime in Montreal, a late-career stint as chief of police in the Laurentian resort town of Mont Tremblant should have been easy for Michel Ledoux.
Instead it turned into a nightmare as the chief became the target of a harassment campaign waged by his own officers, then was fired and criminally charged for using hidden cameras and recording devices to identify his tormentors.
Now — six years after his troubles began — Ledoux has won an apology from the town of Mont-Tremblant and reached an undisclosed financial settlement.
“The representatives of the city profoundly regret the unfortunate circumstances and the consequences the events had on Mr. Ledoux and his family members,” a statement from Mont-Tremblant reads.
A spokeswoman said Ledoux will not return to the police force, and the terms of the settlement, approved last week by town council, are confidential. Ledoux had been seeking $8-million through the courts.
Ledoux became chief in 2007 but fell out of favour with his team of about 30 officers when he tried to instil tighter discipline.
After Ledoux suspended two officers early in 2011 amid contentious contract negotiations, he became the target of personal attacks at the police station that were detailed in a 2015 Quebec Court decision.
One day, he found a fake bomb outside his office door. Another time, he arrived at work to find himself hanging in effigy.
Crude photo montages appeared in the station depicting Ledoux in sexually degrading situations. Insulting tracts, associating the police chief with sexually transmitted diseases and mental illness, were also posted.
The court concluded that Ledoux was the victim of a form of psychological harassment known as mobbing, to the point where he took his service revolver home and considered suicide.
As the abuse continued, Ledoux bought a concealed camera and microphone. Before long, he established that the president of the police brotherhood was behind what the judgment called a “vicious and degrading” harassment campaign.
Audio recordings revealed officers hoped to drive Ledoux out.
“I hope he is smart enough to leave,” one officer was heard saying.
“A boss can’t live with harassment like that,” said another.
“All organizations run by guys from Montreal are crap,” said another.
A jury acquitted Ledoux of criminal charges related to the surveillance in 2014. An appeal by the Crown was heard last year, and the decision has not been rendered.
In the 2015 Court of Quebec decision addressing Ledoux’s firing, the threejudge panel found a fourmonth suspension without pay would have been the appropriate penalty.
The court ordered Ledoux reinstated with back pay and ordered the town to pay his legal fees.
But when he showed up to work, he was turned away; he has been suspended with pay ever since.
In 2015, his lawyer said Ledoux was keen to get back to work.
“He was the boss and he did no wrong,” he said. “He should be there, and the other guys should be out.”
That won’t happen now, but he can take comfort in seeing the town finally accept its responsibility for his ordeal.
Through his lawyer, Ledoux declined an interview Friday, but in the statement from Mont-Tremblant he said he accepts the town’s regrets.