Ottawa police officer admits to breaching records
Beebakhee says his searching of database wasn’t for ‘nefarious reasons’
An Ottawa police officer who was to be meeting with internal investigators about allegations of misconduct breached policy and queried his own name in the police database the day before and the morning of the meeting.
During his cross-examination, Sgt. Rohan Beebakhee told his internal disciplinary hearing that he didn’t remember querying himself and couldn’t tell the hearing officer why he would have done that.
“I don’t recall. Sorry,” Beebakhee told prosecutor Christiane Huneault. “I can’t tell you.”
Beebakhee does admit to accessing internal police records several times, sometimes to look up things for personal reasons as innocuous as looking up a Crown attorney’s birthday or trying to fast-track volunteer applications for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and other times for reasons he can’t explain, such as querying the relative of a friend he’s had for more than 30 years or searching an ex-girlfriend who used to be involved in the sex trade industry 49 times.
He accessed crime reports relating to an incident involving a friend, and while he admitted he recognized that was inappropriate, he said that if the issue ever went to court and an accused felt that Beebakhee had compromised the investigation, he’d be able to articulate that he was just trying to stay on top of crime trends in the city.
“But what would the public perception be?” Huneault asked.
Beebakhee said he accepts responsibility for the records breaches he’s committed, and though it’s not the model example to set for younger officers, he wasn’t breaching the system for “nefarious reasons.”
In his earlier testimony, Beebakhee told the hearing that he had the idea to conduct safety briefings with Ottawa-area escorts after learning of alleged Craigslist Killer Phillip Markoff. Markoff died by suicide before every being tried for murder and robbery but is believed to have looked for potential victims over the Internet. Beebakhee thought something similar could happen in Ottawa.
In cross-examination, Huneault asked that if that was the impetus for the unauthorized work, why didn’t Beebakhee tell that to professional standards investigators tasked with looking into the alleged misconduct?
Beebakhee testified Monday that current Deputy Chief Jill Skinner knew about his meetings with escorts and was comfortable with the idea once he notified the then inspector that he was recording audio of his interactions with all of the women he met with.
During cross-examination, Beebakhee revealed that he did not let Skinner know that his supervisor hadn’t approved the controversial project.
Beebakhee also said that Skinner’s initial concerns, which he said were alleviated by the recordings, had to do with his previously being charged with sexual assault. Beebakhee said Skinner was more comfortable knowing the recordings protected him from false allegations. The criminal charge against Beebakhee was ultimately withdrawn in 2009.
Beebakhee is charged under the Police Services Act with three counts of insubordination, two counts of corrupt practice and one count of deceit.
The hearing resumes on Thursday when Deputy Chief Jill Skinner is expected to testify as a defence witness.