B.C. police officer fired after calling in sick 25 times to coach hockey

The incident is one of two hockey-related complaints about B.C. police officers that were investigated by the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner.

An officer from the West Vancouver Police Department was dismissed for repeatedly calling in sick and then going to coach hockey instead.

The incident is one of two hockey-related complaints about B.C. police officers that were investigated by the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner and detailed in its 2021 annual report.

“It was reported that the (West Vancouver Police Department) member called in sick for two shifts in a row. The member was then seen coaching a hockey game during the second shift for which he had called in sick,” reads the report.

The department initiated an internal investigation and discovered that the officer had called in sick 25 times over a period of four years (2015-2019) in order to go and coach hockey instead.

Not only did he coach on days when he had called in sick, he denied it to his supervisor, says the OPCC.

The officer was fired from his position for deceit and discreditable conduct. Disciplinary officials from the West Vancouver department noted that his behaviour “would fall below the public’s expectations of a municipal police officer.” They also noted that employers should be able to expect that employees “not flagrantly abuse their sick time.”

The officer resigned from his position before he was fired. But according to the OPCC, his employment records were amended to reflect the dismissal.