Police chief free to resign, mayor says: ‘Very open to that’
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps says she is open to the resignation of suspended Police Chief Frank Elsner.
“If the chief wants to tender his resignation, he can tender his resignation,” Helps said Wednesday. “We’re not going to have a negotiation. It’s very simple — you write a letter of resignation and you resign. And we’re very open to that.”
Helps, who is co-chairwoman of the Victoria Police Board, said she was surprised to discover Elsner had filed an affidavit in B.C. Supreme Court saying he wants to resign, but is not free to simply leave his position as chief constable.
“I’m not clear what the chief means by he can’t resign,” Helps said. “We were all surprised by that as well.”
After Elsner resigns, the board will move as quickly as possible to hire a new chief, she said.
“We have a number of options and all those options will be explored by the board.”
The board could do a Canadawide search or a B.C.-wide search and will also consider hiring from within, she said.
“What I can say is Acting Chief Del Manak has been doing a very, very good job. The senior command team has been doing a very good job under challenging circumstances. They have led the department very well,” Helps said.
“We’ll make a decision once either the chief resigns or the investigation is completed or both.”
In December 2015, police complaint commissioner Stan Lowe ordered an investigation into allegations that Elsner sent inappropriate Twitter messages to the wife of a subordinate officer. Lowe also ordered a public trust investigation into allegations of workplace harassment submitted by the police union on behalf of four female employees of the police department.
A third external investigation into allegations Elsner tried to obstruct the Twitter probe was ordered in April 2016. By that time, Elsner had filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court to try to stop that investigation, arguing that he had already been disciplined by Helps and police board co-chair Barb Desjardins. Although a three-day hearing on that petition was held in November, a decision by Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson has not been released.
In his 122-page affidavit, Elsner said he wants to resign so that he can take care of his health and move on with his life. Elsner said he has experienced a great deal of stress and anxiety, and is deeply troubled by delays in the investigations.
Helps said the board also wants to move on. “We do know the investigation has been completed and we look forward to whatever comes next. We’re in the same position as everyone else. We want this to be resolved so we can move on. We’re very curious and looking forward to the results of the investigation. It’s been 14 months.”
The police board continues to pay Elsner’s $206,000 annual salary and is covering the cost of his legal fees for the first investigation.
“We also have a contractual obligation to indemnify him for allegations that are not substantiated. Until this is concluded, we are not currently covering those costs,” Helps said.
The Victoria Police Department is paying the costs of the investigations.
Deputy police complaint commissioner Rollie Woods said the Police Act doesn’t prevent an officer from resigning. “It’s not unusual for officers to resign during the course of a Police Act investigation.”
A resignation wouldn’t halt an investigation, though, Woods said.
The commissioner would not speculate on what he would do if Elsner resigns.
Lowe has promised to release a summary report to the public at the end of the process “in order to preserve public confidence in the investigation of police misconduct and the administration of police discipline.”
The final investigation reports were completed Friday and are in the hands of the retired judges who are acting as disciplinary authorities, Woods said. The retired judges are expected to make their decisions by March 10 on whether the allegations against Elsner have been substantiated.
The commissioner then has 20 business days to review the judges’ decisions. If an allegation is substantiated, a disciplinary hearing must be held within 40 days. Disciplinary hearings are not open to the public.
Neither the police board nor the public is entitled to see the final investigation report or the retired judge’s report, Woods said.
Manak declined to comment “out of respect for the ongoing process.”