Watchdog tells Durham police to drop probe of whistleblower
The force, whose leadership is under investigation for alleged corruption, denies wrongdoing
An overseer appointed to monitor the embattled Durham Regional police force has told it to drop its internal prosecution of a whistleblower, finding senior command improperly tried to use the spectre of discipline as a “bargaining lever” to make her dish dirt on another officer.
The instruction to end the disciplinary proceedings against Sgt. Nicole Whiteway is the latest development in the ongoing investigation by the Ontario Civilian Police Commission, which alleges there is “credible information” that the force’s top brass “might have” participated in alleged criminal conduct.
Whiteway was one of several employees of Durham Regional Police Service who filed complaints to Ontario’s solicitor general, accusing the police chief and members of his senior command of corruption and abuse of power.
The allegations, which the chief says are baseless recriminations and innuendo from disgruntled employees, prompted the province to order an investigation into the country’s 10th largest municipal police force.
In May 2019, the commission appointed an administrator — retired Toronto deputy police chief Mike Federico — to oversee promotions and internal discipline inside Durham police to “mitigate against any potential interference in the commission’s investigation so that the public can be assured that a full accounting will be achieved.”
In reviewing the internal charges against Whiteway that alleged she stole money from an abusive ex-husband, Federico determined the force’s efforts to leverage a potential resolution to Whi
teway’s disciplinary proceedings by asking her to provide damaging information on a high-ranking officer were “improper,” according to his June17 decision obtained by the Star.
Continuing the disciplinary proceeding against Whiteway would amount “to an abuse of process and is contrary to the public interest,” Federico concluded.
“The administration of justice cannot condone such conduct and, clearly, should not be used as a tool for such purposes.” Durham police would not comment on the administrator’s decision. In its submissions to the administrator, the police service maintained that it has evidence against Whiteway and that it was making “legitimate inquiries, in good faith, about the possible misconduct of a high-ranking DRPS officer.”
Whiteway’s lawyer described her as “a dedicated police officer, single mother with four children and a survivor of horrific domestic abuse.
“To see her mistreated like this is absolutely sad and shocking,” lawyer Peter Brauti said. “Thankfully, bullies don’t seem to be doing very well in society these days so we continue to have faith that she will ultimately prevail.”
Whiteway is a veteran cop whose mother was the first female deputy chief in Durham.
In 2017, her ex-husband filed a complaint with Durham police, accusing Whiteway of stealing upwards of $20,000 when she went to his apartment to pick up some belongings, according to her complaint.
It was a false accusation, Whiteway said, a ploy by her ex to get her to withdraw domestic assault charges (the ex later pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with a weapon, one count of assault and two counts of uttering death threats).
Whiteway’s complaint alleged she and her lawyer tried to resolve the theft allegation but Durham police dragged its heels, suggesting that she “could be of assistance such that ( Whiteway’s) charges would not be a problem.”
She said then-deputy chief Uday Jaswal met with both her and her lawyer, fishing for “dirt” on the police service’s other deputy chief, Chris Fernandes.
Whiteway said she refused to play along. “I was no longer prepared to be toyed with, used or extorted for political purposes,” Whiteway said in her complaint to the province.
A lawyer representing Durham’s senior command had denied Whiteway’s allegations, calling them “false and defamatory.” As deputy chief, Jaswal “was responsible for enforcing professional standards,” the lawyer previously told the Star in a statement. “He understands the importance of such matters and the effects such matters have on individual officers. He takes those responsibilities extremely seriously.”
In his decision calling for Whiteway’s charges to be withdrawn, Federico notes that there was circumstantial evidence against Whiteway because three friends of the exhusband say Whiteway told them she found the money.
However, there is no public interest in pursuing the disciplinary proceedings in light of conduct of Jaswal and Durham police, Federico said.
Jaswal is now a deputy chief in Ottawa, where he is currently suspended and facing disciplinary charges for allegedly sexually harassing female subordinates. Jaswal’s lawyer has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing by the senior officer.
Durham police chief Paul Martin had turned to the courts to challenge the commission’s order that led to the appointment of the administrator, but Ontario’s Divisional Court dismissed the motion in April.
The commission recently extended Federico’s appointment until at least the end of 2020, finding a serious “crisis of confidence” in senior command persists among Durham’s rankand-file officers that constitutes an emergency.