The association representing municipal police officers in New Brunswick wants an independent inquiry into the handling of a case involving a senior Kennebecasis regional police officer.
The New Brunswick Police Association (NBPA) held a joint news conference Monday with CUPE, which represents Kennebecasis Regional Police Force members, to discuss the Insp. Jeff Porter case.
Porter has been suspended with pay for more than four years as he awaits an arbitration hearing on allegations of misconduct involving a female civilian employee of the force.
“[Taxpayers] have the right to know why it has happened, how it’s happened, and to ensure it won’t happen again,” said Mike Davidson, CUPE national representative.
“This was a one-off and it’s not right to ignore that one-off because we don’t know if it’s going to happen again or not and it shouldn’t happen again.”
Our newsroom first reported last week that the Porter matter has cost taxpayers in the towns of Quispamsis and Rothesay more than $1 million to date.
The new figure was included in a joint letter sent to the premier by the two councils which called for changes to the province’s Police Act to expedite the discipline process.
Bob Davidson, labour analyst for the New Brunswick Police Association, said while they think the process can be improved, it is not the reason this case has been delayed.
“The fiasco outlined in the police manager Porter case is extraordinary where the discipline process was not properly administered by the former chief of police [Stephen] McIntyre, the former executive director of the New Brunswick Police Commission [Steve] Roberge and the then joint police board of Rothesay and Quispamsis,” said Davidson.
Timeline Of Events
According to CUPE, the allegations against Porter were first brought to the attention of then-chief McIntyre by Const. Kelley McIntyre (no relation) in February 2016.
The chief filed a complaint under the Police Act against the constable, alleging she poisoned the workplace of Porter when she raised the allegations on behalf of a co-worker. McIntyre was cleared the following month.
In April 2016, then-deputy chief Steven Palmer filed a complaint with the chief to have the allegations against Porter investigated. The chief sent the deputy chief’s complaint to the New Brunswick Police Commission (NBPC).
Const. McIntyre also filed a conduct complaint against the chief under the Police Act in June 2016, alleging abuse of power and coercion, corruption, intimidation, harassment and poisoning her work environment.
Porter was suspended on June 28, 2016, and the chief was given the authority to appoint an investigator to look into the complaints. The union described the appointment as a “direct conflict of interest” and said it wrote to the Kennebecasis Regional Joint Board of Police Commissioners and the NBPC, but they “refused to intervene.”
In the meantime, an investigator appointed by the NBPC revealed in October 2016 that the chief violated 23 breaches under the Police Act. He resigned five days later.
The investigator appointed by McIntyre did not provide any findings under the Police Act, according to the union, and the investigation was not completed until Jennifer White was appointed and released her findings in June 2018.
An investigative report by White identified 16 specific allegations of misconduct by Porter. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
The NBPC scheduled a settlement conference for Porter in September 2018, but after the parties failed to reach an agreement, an arbitration hearing was launched the following month.
Porter sought a judicial review of the case, arguing he was not served with a notice of settlement conference within the six-month time limit. But a Court of Queen’s Bench judge turned down the judicial review in February, saying Porter “failed to establish any exceptional circumstances that would justify judicial intervention before the administrative process has been completed.”
‘That’s Called Collusion’
Bob Davidson claims the board of police commissioners and the NBPC are responsible for the delay by allowing then-police chief McIntyre to seize control of the investigation.
“[Chief] McIntyre was covering up for Porter and [Steve] Roberge was covering up for McIntyre, so that’s how this happened,” alleged Davidson. “That’s called collusion.”
The union alleges the series of court challenges from Porter stemming from the 28-month delay from the date of when the allegations were raised until the settlement conference was scheduled created another one-year delay in the arbitration process.
Davidson said the association met with the Department of Public Safety last week to request they appoint an independent investigator.
In addition to the inquiry, the union believes the Police Act should be changed so the chiefs’ authority over any complaint is transferred to an independent third-party “to restore confidence and accountability” in the complaint process.
“The oversight body failed, let’s be clear on this. That’s what we are trying to explain here to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” said Mike Davidson.
The CUPE national representative notes there has been a “change in culture” at KRPF since the retirement of former chief McIntyre.
“We have an excellent administration now that we can work well with. We bring issues to the table. There’s a lot of credibility and a lot of integrity and a lot of oversight to what’s being done. We have full confidence in the administration and I think the public needs to know that,” he said.
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