Hamilton councillor says he's being 'silenced' on police board as suspension continues 1 year later

A city councillor says his voice as a member of the Hamilton Police Service Board has been "effectively silenced" for a full year as an oversight body investigates a complaint made against him by some of his fellow board members.

Cameron Kroetsch, who is also the Ward 2 councillor, said the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) suspended him on March 8, 2024, to investigate a complaint filed by the board alleging he violated its code of conduct.

In a letter to mark the anniversary of his suspension," Kroetsch wrote that as time has worn on, it's become even clearer to him that the actions the board took in filing the complaint were procedurally unfair, an abuse of process, biased, and personally motivated.

"The board's complaint and the OCPC's investigation have prevented me from participating not only in Board meetings, but in meetings of both the Governance and Budget Committees, of which I'm a member," Kroetsch said.

"My role is one of oversight on behalf of residents who fund the Hamilton Police Service. I've been asked by Ward 2 residents why this is taking so long."

The OCPC did not answer that question. In an email to CBC Hamilton, spokesperson Veronica Spada said, "The OCPC is not in a position to comment at this time, as it does not comment on the substance or circumstances of ongoing investigations."

CBC Hamilton also contacted the Police Service Board and a spokesperson had a similar comment, saying "the board has no comments as this matter is currently under investigation."

Kroetsch said the original complaint against him was filed by then chair Pat Mandy on Nov. 20, 2023, and voted on by the board. 

Mandy alleged Kroetsch breached the board's Code of Conduct because he brought a motion asking the city to direct the use of the board's budget surpluses, and Kroetsch made public comments on social media in 2023 that were critical of the board's budgetary processes.

Mandy did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication of this story.

"When the board voted to send this complaint to the OCPC, its composition included chair Pat Mandy, vice-chair Fred Bennink, and members Andrea Horwath, Esther Pauls, Geordie Elms, Anjali Menezes and myself," Kroetsch wrote in the letter.

"Today, the board's composition is very different. Of those who were present when this complaint was referred to the OCPC, only members Andrea Horwath, Esther Pauls, and Anjali Menezes are currently active board members. In other words, the majority of those who voted on referring this complaint to the OCPC are no longer on the board."

Further allegations of code violations

Kroetsch said the board requested the OCPC add further allegations of code violations since the original complaint was filed.

These include public comments Kroetsch made on social media about the budget process in January and February 2024, public comments to mainstream media during the 2024 budget process, public comments during the Feb. 13 board meeting, and that Kroetsch attended a rally to support the family of Erixon Kabera, who was killed by Hamilton police at his home.

"The board did not provide these complaints to me officially in writing, which means I was never afforded the right to comment or reply to the board about them. Instead, the board simply filed these further allegations against me directly with the OCPC, bypassing the Board's own complaint procedure. The OCPC accepted the Board's request to add these allegations," Kroetsch said.

"I believe it's unfair to add allegations, at will, to an existing investigation and doing so has only caused further delays. It took the OCPC, for example, more than six months to conduct an interview with me, which eventually took place in September 2024 and was the only time I've spoken directly with anyone from the OCPC over the last year."

I'm concerned this appears to be an attempt to keep me off the board for a prolonged period.- Cameron Kroetsch, Ward 2 councillor

The councillor said the investigation by the OCPC has dragged on, despite the fact all the comments he made were in public and were easily accessible to the OCPC for the purposes of its investigation.

Additionally, he said the complaint against him has been handled much differently by the OCPC than another complaint against a former board member it investigated in 2018. 

Kroetsch noted that at that time, former board chair, Coun. Lloyd Ferguson, made public comments about then Ward 3 Coun. Matthew Green, adding the OCPC was able to wrap up their entire investigation in about three weeks over the December holiday break. 

"To put it another way, the OCPC was able to conduct its investigation, speak with former chair Ferguson and rule on the matter in less than a month," 

"I acknowledge that every complaint is different, but I'm concerned this appears to be an attempt to keep me off the board for a prolonged period of time to prevent me from providing oversight on behalf of the residents of Hamilton."