Retired Saanich police officer retroactively dismissed for misconduct, OPCC report says

A retired police officer on Vancouver Island was retroactively dismissed from his department after the conclusion of an investigation by B.C.'s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.

The Saanich police officer was responsible for recertifying the department's "Drug Recognition Experts," and knowingly signed off on several certifications for officers who had not completed the proper training, according to the OPCC.

Details of the investigation were summarized in the OPCC's latest annual report, which was published last week. 

The Saanich Police Department requested the investigation in May 2018, and the file was closed sometime between April 2020 and March 2021. The misconduct in question happened from 2014 and 2016, according to the OPCC. 

The complaint included a total of 16 allegations against the officer, and the OPCC's discipline authority concluded that all 16 were substantiated.

The investigation concluded that the officer had committed "neglect of duty" by "recertifying a number of police officers, including himself, which was in contravention of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) DRE policy."

The officer also committed "discreditable conduct," according to the OPCC report, by "engaging in practices not consistent with the IACP standards for recertification, which resulted in police officers being recertified when they did not meet the requirements."

Finally, the remaining 14 allegations related to the specific instances of signing off on recertifications despite knowledge that the minimum requirements for recertification were not met. Those 14 allegations amounted to "deceit," according to the OPCC.

The officer retired before the investigation into his misconduct had been completed, and the OPCC report indicates he did not attend the discipline proceeding in the case.