Another senior officer at the West Vancouver Police Department has announced he will be leaving the department.
Inspector Mike Rattray will retire from the West Vancouver Police Department March 31.
The announcement of Rattray’s retirement comes just two weeks after Chief Constable Peter Lepine announced he will be stepping away from the top job at the department.
Both departures come in the wake of a damning internal report that pointed to serious dissatisfaction by police officers and civilian employees with senior management in the police department.
It also comes after some police officers went public with allegations of harassment and a culture that tolerates harassment at the department.
Lepine has said his own departure is not related to either the internal report or the harassment allegations. He also said he investigates all harassment investigations that come to his attention.
Neither Lepine nor West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith, chair of the police board, had any comment on Rattray’s retirement.
Const. Jeff Palmer, spokesman for the department, read a statement from Lepine that said “employees of the West Vancouver police make their own career decisions on an ongoing basis.” He added that Lepine considers it “inappropriate” to comment on “any individual’s personal career decisions.”
According to a biography posted on the police department website, Rattray began his policing career with the RCMP in 1978. He first began working for the West Vancouver Police Department in 1982.
Jeff McDonald, spokesman for the District of West Vancouver, said Smith would also not be commenting on the retirement.
Two weeks ago, at a press conference, Smith hinted he expected to see some changes in the ranks of senior officers, commenting, "The board is prepared to take further personnel actions in a very short time frame."
Rattray will be the third senior officer to leave the West Vancouver Police Department in the past year.
Inspector Wayne Giesbrecht left the department in March 2013.
