Delta police chief defends his unit
Dubord says allegations against his wife don’t reflect on ‘values’ of force
The chief of the Delta Police Department is speaking out about assault allegations made against his wife.
On Monday, Chief Neil Dubord issued a statement about a June 6 incident in which his wife allegedly hurled insults at Kiran Sidhu and sprayed her with a hose.
Sidhu had been trying to make her way along Centennial Beach to her car, but was forced onto rocks along the property line of the Dubord family home due to the tide, prompting the interaction with Dubord’s wife, Lorraine. Part of the encounter was filmed and posted to a private Facebook group.
Dubord’s statement, posted on the Delta police website on Monday morning, begins by saying he felt it was important to speak directly to the community about the complaint received on June 7.
“I want to say unreservedly that the matter at hand in no way reflects the values and commitment to the community of the officers of the Delta Police Department, nor my own values,” he wrote. “Out of respect for our office, I also feel that it is important to note that the complaint does not involve a member of the Delta Police Department.”
His statement also reiterated his police force’s responsibility to continue “efforts to exemplify the excellence in policing that our community expects” but that he and the department still needed to “listen, learn and improve.”
Dubord’s statement was also accompanied Monday by another by Delta Police’s Deputy Chief Const. Norm Lipinski that detailed the early stages of the probe. Lipinski said an initial investigation was conducted internally, but a supervisor was also assigned to the case as an additional level of oversight. “This level of oversight is not standard practice, but I felt it was required given the nature of the matter,” he wrote.
The results of that investigation were shared with Sidhu, said Lipinski, but that Sidhu was not satisfied with the conclusion. The department has since tapped the RCMP to conduct an independent investigation, which is now underway without any involvement from Delta police investigative parties.
Lipinski then encouraged anyone with concerns or questions to submit them to the police at media@deltapolice.ca. The Delta Police Board may address some questions at a scheduled open meeting set for Tuesday at 9 a.m.
In a recent interview with the Delta Optimist, Sidhu said she had been at a socially distanced picnic at Centennial Beach that day. The tide came in as she was leaving, forcing her to climb onto some rocks to get to her car. Those rocks were along the property line of the Dubord family home.
Sidhu alleged Dubord yelled at her to get off the rocks, but she had nowhere to go. Dubord then insulted her and later sprayed her with a garden hose, Sidhu told the Optimist.
“My face was wet, my hair was wet … it was just so shocking,” she said. “She is an adult woman, I’m an adult woman. I was made to feel so unwelcome in these white spaces, which is something I’m aware of being a racialized woman in these white spaces as a teacher, as an active member of my union, and I work on changing that.”