Police board chair wants changes to suspensions with pay

WATERLOO REGION — Police chiefs should have the discretion to decide whether officers accused of serious misconduct get paid or not, says the chair of the Waterloo Regional Police Services Board.

“This is costing a huge amount of money,” Tom Galloway said of the existing system in which suspended officers are still paid. “It has been abused.”

Galloway was in Toronto Wednesday as part of the Ontario Association of Police Services Board as discussions continue on changes to the current Police Services Act.

Some of the changes on the table include changing the parameters regarding suspended officers receiving pay after serious misconduct, outsourcing some police work to civilians, and helping police better respond to mental health calls.

The Police Services Act was passed into law in 1990. The province has committed to reopening the legislation to bring it in line with modern practices.

A new version was expected to be introduced this spring, but the province is still taking recommendations and there may be delays, Galloway said.

Ontario is the only province in Canada that allows officers to continue receiving their salary even if they are facing serious criminal and disciplinary charges. They continue to get paid during an appeal process that can take years. Chiefs can cut off a suspended

officer’s pay only if the individual is sentenced to prison.

The situation has put police services and police boards in a quandary as they have had to pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary to officers who aren’t

on the job.

Locally, Chief Bryan Larkin is a strong proponent of changing the law so that officers who are suspended after serious, egregious misconduct are not paid.

The current situation has led to an erosion of public trust with citizens outraged that suspended officers continue to collect a paycheque.

“The media has shone a spotlight on this issue. We had a celebrated case ourselves,” Galloway

said.

Craig Markham, a suspended officer who was paid for three years but later fired, boasted about getting paid while not working, in an email sent to the local police service. He said he was able to sit at home, take courses, play golf and travel while getting paid.

His initial offence stemmed from a 2011 incident in which Markham gave confidential police records to suspected members of the Hells Angels. He was charged criminally with breach of trust, pleaded guilty and was given a conditional discharge in October 2012.

Despite being fired after a formal hearing, Markham appealed the decision and received his salary during a lengthy appeal process. After that appeal was dismissed, he was ordered to resign. He quit in February 2015.

Ontario’s 12 largest police boards paid $16.9 million to officers facing disciplinary proceedings between 2005 and 2009. In 2012 alone, the payout totalled $6.4 million.

And in January 2016, no fewer than 50 officers with four of Ontario’s largest police departments were getting their paycheques while suspended for misconduct.

Locally, at least five officers were under suspension and getting paid last year.