Inquest will be held into Vancouver police officer’s suicide

VANCOUVER • A public inquest will be held into the death of Nicole Chan, a 30-year-old Vancouver police officer who died by suicide after intimate relationships with two senior officers, the B.C. Coroners Service announced Thursday.

Chan died on Jan. 27, 2019, after nine years with the Vancouver police. Her family, who allege Chan was sexually harassed and sexually assaulted, is suing the city, the B.C. government, the Vancouver police, board and union, and the two officers.

An investigation by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner determined Sgt. David Van Patten had an inappropriate relationship with Chan while serving as a human resources officer for the department. Van Patten was dismissed a year after Chan’s death for discreditable conduct.

Another officer, Sgt. Greg Mccullough, was handed a 15-day suspension in 2018 after a relationship with Chan, despite “knowing that (Chan) was in a vulnerable state mentally and emotionally,” according to the complaint commission. Mccullough has since resigned.

Her family launched a civil suit in June, claiming Van Patten and other officers sexually harassed, sexually assaulted and intimidated Chan using their rank while she was employed as a junior officer. It also says the VPD, board and union failed to create a safe working culture and policies that allowed the “culpable conduct” of the officers against Chan to continue for years.

According to the suit, Chan and Mccullough started a relationship in 2015 despite both being married to other people. Mccullough allegedly didn’t tell his superiors about the relationship and urged Chan to do the same.

In early 2016, Chan met Van Patten when she applied for a new position within the VPD. While the application was unsuccessful, Van Patten began to text and flirt with Chan until he pressed her into an intimate relationship during a work trip. He too failed to tell the employer and urged Chan to keep it secret, according to the lawsuit.

Van Patten is accused of threatening Chan with evidence of her prior relationship with Mccullough, with whom he had become friends, by exposing the relationship to both their spouses. He demanded to continue his sexual relationship with Chan in exchange for not telling Chan’s husband or Mccullough’s wife.

The inquest will begin on Jan. 23, 2023.