Ex-officer criticizes police for ‘bullying’

Kelly Donovan says forces go after those who make internal complaints

WATERLOO REGION — A former Waterloo Regional Police officer has released a scathing 93-page report suggesting local police and other police services across the province intimidate, bully and harass their employees who try to lodge internal complaints.

Kelly Donovan said the complaint procedures and disciplinary actions against officers are unfair.

Donovan, who was a constable with Waterloo Regional Police for six years, said she quit on June 30 because she felt she could change the culture of policing from the outside.

When she tried internally, she was silenced, Donovan said.

Donovan said her business — Fit4Duty — will offer an independent whistleblower program to police services, government agencies and private companies.

She said she plans on presenting information on her company to police services boards across the province this year and in 2018.

In an interview, Donovan said reaction has been swift and positive.

“What I’m calling for, no one is offering,” she said.

In her report released Monday, titled “Systemic Misfeasance in Ontario Policing and the co-ordinated Suppression of Whistleblowers,” Donovan described a “culture of internal bullying.” when it comes to whistle-blowing

Donovan said officers who complain to their superiors “live in fear of arbitrary prosecution that can last for years.”

“A large majority of police officers have been exposed to some form of unethical or corrupt behaviour within their police service and have not reported the behaviour for fear of reprisal.

“A very small number of police officers have chosen to report the behaviour and have been forced

out of the profession,” she said in the report.

She said officers who become “police whistleblowers” face negative consequences from police leadership.

“I witnessed police officers sweep allegations under the rug … I saw good hard-working officers be humiliated and non-criminal allegations be stretched into homicide scale criminal investigations for officers,” she said in the report.

Donovan said that making matters worse is the lack of support from police associations.

Donovan said she saw women leave the police service because they didn’t want to remain in a “toxic” environment.

She said female officers who were promoted “do nothing from their positions of power to improve the system for those beneath them.”

In May 2016, Donovan addressed the Waterloo Regional Police Services Board and spoke in favour of Sgt. Brad Finucan who was charged with criminal harassment.

Donovan also mentions him in the report. She said Finucan was treated unfairly by detectives and evidence was withheld during the investigation.

At his trial last year, Finucan pleaded guilty to harassment and illegal gun possession, but walked out of court without a criminal conviction.

Finucan was given an absolute discharge on the charge of possession of a .357 Magnum revolver without a required licence and a conditional discharge with nine months’ probation on the count of harassment against a woman, who is currently an officer with Waterloo Regional Police.

Finucan remains suspended with pay after being taken off the job in January 2015.

Donovan said the report is a not a “personal attack” on Waterloo Regional Police, but systemic issues happening across police services.

Donovan said the report focuses on the “upper-level” decision makers and not the officers on the road each day.

She credits the officers who are dedicated and “keep coming to work everyday. We keep showing up for work to keep the public safe.”

Donovan said in the report that after speaking publicly to the board her credibility had been attacked by her employer.

“The reaction was totally punitive,” said Donovan, who was relegated to a desk job for 14 months.

She faces eight charges under the Police Services Act and was forbidden by the chief to address the police services board, she said.

Donovan said she filed workplace harassment and human rights complaints.

Police Chief Bryan Larkin, who is in Montreal at a conference, could not be reached. In a statement, he said he found out about the report through the media and could not speak to the opinions in it.

“However, we want to highlight that police oversight, accountability and transparency are the hallmarks of policing in Waterloo Region, as well as in Ontario and Canada. We are, and have long been, committed to building a strong workplace where all of our members thrive,” it said.

“We are extremely proud of our members, whose hard work and dedication to Waterloo Region is showcased daily throughout the community. The WRPS is an integral partner in supporting the advancement of police modernization and has endorsed the recent recommendations of Justice Tulloch, which call on the provincial government to invest, modernize and support enhanced police oversight in the province,” he said.

“Ontario continues to be a leader in policing, with more than 25 years of independent oversight and an acknowledgment that our system requires change as it continues to evolve.

“Locally, the WRPS is actively involved in significant transformation as we work to advance policing and focus on member engagement and empowerment,” he said.