Former cop sues police chief and town of Amherst

A former Amherst, N.S., police officer is suing the town and the chief of police for defamation.

Mark Rushton, who filed his suit in Nova Scotia Supreme Court earlier this month, alleges accusations last year that he misrepresented his qualifications for his job have ruined his reputation and career and caused personal hardships.

Rushton resigned on June 6, 2024, just 10 days after being told a complaint had been made against him under the Nova Scotia Police Act.

He worked for the Amherst Police Department for about a year as a constable and says in his lawsuit that his resignation was not related to the complaint, but rather was the result of a decision to move to the Annapolis Valley to be closer to his family.

According to his lawsuit, Rushton was served with the complaint on May 27, 2024, and it accused him of acting "in a disorderly manner" and having "willfully [made] a false or misleading statement in an official record."

When Amherst police announced the following month that they were conducting an internal investigation of one of their own officers, police Chief Dwayne Pike never identified Rushton by name in his public statements when he said they were investigating questions about an officer's credentials and qualifications.

But the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service and court documents did identify him. The prosecution service launched a review of all cases Rushton handled during his time on the Amherst force, resulting in nine charges against seven people being dropped.

In his lawsuit, Rushton contends Pike's comments "tend to lower the reputation of the Plaintiff by right thinking members of society" and were "libellous and defamatory."

In an email, Laura Neilan, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Rushton, said she "looked forward to vindicating his reputation during the litigation process."

"We have not seen a shred of evidence to suggest that Mr. Rushton was dishonest during the interview process, or that he lacks the necessary qualifications to work as a police officer in Amherst," the email said.

Rushton worked as a military police officer in 2017 and served as a sergeant peace officer with a town in Alberta before taking the job in Amherst.

Reputation, career 'have been destroyed'

Rushton said the Amherst department had his resumé and a full record of his training, which includes graduation from the Canadian Forces Military Police Academy and Dalhousie University's police leadership program.

His suit says there's nothing in the Police Act to suggest his military police training was inadequate and asserts that "his reputation and career have been destroyed as a result of Chief Pike's libellous statements."

Rushton says he's been unable to get a job with a municipal police force because any background check invariably leads to stories about his problems with the Amherst force.

He says he tried to resume work as a military police officer, but the force wouldn't accept him until after it conducted its own investigation into his credentials. He was able to land a short-term contract with them that expires this month.

Rushton says in the suit that he has lost custody of his children and been forced to seek bankruptcy protection because of his lack of steady employment.

"Chief Pike's statements were made with a reckless disregard for the consequences to the Plaintiff's reputation and livelihood and as such, they amount to bad faith, warranting both aggravated and punitive damages," the lawsuit says.

While no specific monetary amount is referenced in the suit, Rushton's lawyer said in its preamble that the case falls within a rule that limits damages to under $150,000.

None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been tested in court and none of the participants accepted CBC's invitation to comment on the case.