West Vancouver Police Department members were disciplined for misconduct four times in the last fiscal year, according to the province’s police watchdog, including two who were fired.
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner released its 2020-2021 annual report Nov. 4, detailing substantiated cases of misconduct under the Police Act, across the province’s municipal police forces.
One member was fired after their supervisor found they were playing hooky to coach hockey.
The officer called in sick two days in a row in 2019, but on the second day, they were seen coaching a hockey game, the report notes. When the department looked into it further, they found the officer had called in sick 25 times between 2015 and 2019, but went to the arena instead. That amounted to 25 cases of discreditable conduct under the Police Act. When asked about it by his supervisor, the officer denied being behind the bench when he should have been on duty.
Leaving his fellow officers short-staffed and using sick days when not sick “would fall below the public’s expectations of a municipal police officer,” the report states. “The discipline authority also cited legal precedent that supported the finding of dismissal, noting the court had found that ‘employers must be able to manage their workplace and have an expectation that employees not flagrantly abuse their sick time.’”
The officer quit the department before the punishment was handed down. However, that does not preclude the OPCC or the department from carrying out the disciplinary process. The punishment is included in the officer’s service record. For their discreditable conduct and deceit, the officer was fired.
In another case impacting the department’s human resources, the commissioner was asked to investigate after a member submitted false or misleading payroll requests between 2016 and 2019. They also failed to make sufficient notes logging their time worked and days off.
For failing to keep proper logs, the officer was given a written reprimand but for lying, they were fired, although they too quit first.
“The discipline authority … noted that the breach of the public and department’s trust was so severe that anything short of dismissal would be unworkable and would bring the administration of justice into disrepute,” the report states.
In another file, an officer was found to have harassed a colleague in the department’s locker room in April 2019. That included making profane, disrespectful, intimidating or demeaning communications, the report notes, which is a breach of the department’s respectful workplace policy and is considered neglect of duty under the Police Act.
“The internal discipline authority… noted that the conduct was on the lower end of seriousness and that the concerns seemed to have resolved itself over time,” the report states. “The discipline authority concluded that an appropriate outcome would be for the member and the department to come to an agreement on a letter of expectations going forward.”
Another officer was given a verbal reprimand and sent for further training after they crashed their cruiser while responding to a call in September 2019. The officer was rushing to assist another member who had called for backup but they failed to turn on their emergency lights and siren. While attempting to exit the highway in slick conditions, the officer lost control and collided with a concrete divider. Operating a vehicle in an unsafe manner is considered neglect of duty under the Act.
And, while it did not result in an official discipline, a West Van cop was found to have listed the West Vancouver Police Department’s address on his driver’s licence and insurance registration when they were pulled over for a traffic stop. In response, the West Vancouver police board adopted a new policy that bars officers from using the WVPD address “except under special circumstances as part of an approved safety plan.”
Over the 2020-2021 fiscal year, there were 14 registered complaints against the department.
Under the Police Act, the officers’ names cannot be released.
The West Vancouver Police Department declined to comment on the report.
Because of its federal jurisdiction, the RCMP is not subject to B.C.’s OPCC. They have their own separate discipline process that is not public.
