Charlottetown police officers’ misconduct a blemish on the force: deputy chief

The disgraceful behaviour of two officers has delivered a blow to the image and morale of the Charlottetown Police Services.

Deputy Chief Brad MacConnell said officers feel embarrassed by the actions of two constables disciplined last month for discreditable conduct and neglect of duty.

“Well, I certainly don’t think this is the brightest day for the Charlottetown Police Services,’’ says MacConnell. “I certainly think because of the attention it got, it certainly had an impact on certainly everyone in the CPS. We felt this.”

However, MacConnell stresses the actions of two male officers who engaged in sexual activities with the same woman over a different time period while on duty are not true reflections of the department overall.

“We remind our guys of that and all the good they do in the community,” he says. “We do impact a lot of people every day in a positive way — some of our outreach programs and things we do that touch a lot of people.”

MacConnell offered some more details and clarification Tuesday to a statement released by Charlottetown police on Feb. 16 concerning disciplinary action taken against the two officers.

He says both officers were first class constables — the top rank of three classes of constable.

One officer has been demoted to second class constable for one year, resulting in a loss of about $30,000 in wages while the second officer has been demoted to second class constable for six months at a loss of about $15,000 in wages.

He says one officer had an “unblemished record” while the other officer had one “minor policy violation” before this investigation took place.

He says a professional standards investigation was opened after a woman called the police department. She did not make a formal complaint but rather called to inform police of the questionable activity of one officer.

Information on the second officer, he adds, was learned through a media report and later explored by police with the woman.

An exclusive report in The Guardian on Feb. 10 revealed that the investigation was focused on concerns brought forward by a woman who says she engaged in sexual activities with a 20-year police veteran in his police cruiser while he was on duty.

The woman also alleged there were times the pair was together when other officers on duty would call for backup over the radio, but the officer would ignore the calls to remain with her.

MacConnell says the investigation did not back up the latter claim.

“Through the investigation and even talking to the woman involved, our concerns were alleviated that there were no emergency calls or calls for backup for assistance that were ignored,” he says.

He says the investigation did not reveal any policy gaps, noting guidelines concerning the misconduct are clear.

“You shouldn’t have to tell them that this type of activity isn’t right,” he adds.

He says media coverage and the internal investigation have not led to any allegations of similar misconduct arising against other officers.

MacConnell stood firm on his decision to keep the names of the two disciplined officers private, even if it threatens to raise unfair suspicion toward any of the other officers.

“We wouldn’t name them now, and it was something that we talked about, but I think I speak for all of our officers that we would sooner bear this burden as opposed to troubling one child or kid with (public exposure),” he says.