Hamilton man did not complain about parks police chief
Name of firm hired to probe July incident kept a secret
A Hamilton man involved in a July traffic stop by former Niagara Parks Police Chief Mark McMullen says he did not file the complaint that triggered an investigation into the incident.
Zaboor Feizi said Wednesday while he hired a lawyer at the time to deal charges McMullen laid against him — charges that were later withdrawn in court — he said he did not complain to Niagara Parks Commission.
“I was just dumb, I guess, of even who to turn to if I wanted to complain,” said the 25-year-old IT worker in an interview with The Standard.
Feizi was stopped by McMullan last July in Niagara Falls.
“I don’t want to talk about it. It’s an unpleasant memory,”
Feizi said when asked about his interaction with McMullen, who was fired by the parks commission Monday.
Adam Little, the lawyer who represented Feizi, said the charges against his client were withdrawn in court. Little would not discuss the issue further without the direction of Feizi.
The Standard has not been able to reach McMullen for comment.
Feizi said after the incident, he was focused on dealing with the legal issues and did not contact Niagara Parks Commission, which has hired a firm to investigate the matter.
Commission chair Sandie Bellows, a St. Catharines regional councillor, and NPC acting chief executive officer David Adames have steadfastly refused to say how the issue came to the commission’s attention or when it hired the firm to investigate and how much it will cost. A statement late Wednesday afternoon by commission spokesman Tony Baldinelli said NPC will not “be divulging the name of that independent third-party firm at this time, to ensure the confidentiality of their work on this human resources issue.”
The Standard asked Baldinelli and Bellows how keeping the name of the firm secret protects
the confidentiality of the investigation and under what regulations they were using to withhold the information. They did not reply to the questions. Bellows has declined multiple interview requests from The Standard. In a voice mail, Bellows said she will not discuss the issue.
“This is an HR matter.”
In a Tuesday interview, Adames said the public does not need to know details surrounding the investigation or McMullan’s firing, referring to the issue as a “private matter for now,” and saying the commission takes complaints it receives seriously. The commission did not disclose McMullan had been fired until asked about it by The Standard on Tuesday. Sources familiar with the matter say McMullen was fired without cause on Monday. Details of his severance package have not been released. Adames told The Standard the firing was not solely related to the July traffic stop, but was part of an “overall restructuring” of the parks police service.
It appears the only person fired was McMullen, who was paid $129,000 annually plus benefits. A 30-year veteran of Niagara Regional Police, he was appointed parks police chief in 2017. Parks police officers, including the chief, are special constables sworn in by the NRP services board. When an officer leaves parks police, the commission asks the police board to withdraw that special constable status. Niagara police board vicechair Bill Steele confirmed Wednesday that after McMullen was fired, the commission asked the board to strip him of his status. Steele said the board complied with the request after a review by NRP staff.
Parks police Insp. Paul Forcier has been named acting chief.