Charles Bordeleau has 'full confidence' in officers after leaked letter

Ottawa police have responded to a leaked letter questioning the actions of two officers before and after a training exercise explosion in June, saying they have "full confidence" in their leadership.

CBC News received a letter signed by "the constables of the Ottawa police tactical unit" on Thursday.

The letter, addressed to Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, alleged that the SIU had not heard the full story behind the June 18 explosion in Ottawa's west end that injured two officers and three paramedics during a training exercise.

• Tactical officers raised concerns before training explosion, letter alleges
• Ottawa training exercise explosion leaves 5 injured, 2 seriously

The letter said that two days before the explosion, two officers had raised concerns about how close police and paramedics were getting to explosives with Acting Staff Sgt. Martin Rukavina and Ottawa Paramedic Service supervisor Craig MacInnes.

After the explosion, the constables wrote a different "letter of 'non-confidence'" and sent it to Rukavina and Insp. Mark Ford in July.

Rukavina acknowledged he had received that first July letter, but the authors of the most recent letter say those concerns went "unanswered and unaddressed."

Police chief says tactical unit surprised, hurt by letter

In an email to CBC News on Friday, Ottawa police chief Charles Bordeleau said he can't comment on the letter's specifics because investigations by the SIU, Ministry of Labour and Ottawa police Professional Standards Section are ongoing.

However, he said he has "full confidence in the leadership role" of Ford and Rukavina, and added that a meeting held with the tactical unit Thursday night elicited a different response than was put forward in the letter.

"Last evening, a meeting was held with about 20 of the front line members of the tactical section and members of my senior management team," Bordeleau said.

"My understanding is that the strong sentiment in the room was that the comments neither represented their viewpoints nor did they 'sign' the letter and in fact were both surprised and hurt that such a letter would be written."

Sources in the tactical unit told CBC News Thursday an "overwhelming majority" of its 26 constables signed the original letter of non-confidence in July.

Senior police officers told CBC News on Friday that they're angry the second letter became public and that it reflects badly on the police service.

'Serious communication issues'

Carleton University criminology professor Darryl Davies said the episode is unusual.

"You'd expect it to be dealt with internally by speaking to the officer in charge," he said Friday.

"The fact they even sent a letter suggests there's serious communication issues between those officers, and who knows how many more, and the officer in charge."

The president of the Ottawa Police Association said Thursday it's not unusual for officers to have complaints about upper management but it's clear those behind the most recent letter feel they're not being heard.

"What the issue comes down to is, if they're not feeling like they're being listened to. That's something that has to be addressed, and I'm sure will be addressed, by the service," Matt Skof said.

"... Obviously, their perception is their reality right now, and if it's not believed ... this is how they felt that they had to react. Again, there are other places that they could have turned to."

Davies said he doesn't think the issues discussed in the letter will affect the unit's responses to emergencies but are more of a morale issue.

Comment scarce while investigation ongoing

The SIU and Ottawa paramedics have refused to comment, citing the ongoing investigations.

CBC News did reach Rukavina on the phone on Thursday, who said he's "disappointed" in the second letter but wouldn't comment further.

Rukavina has 27 years experience as a police officer, including 10 years of tactical unit experience.

He was promoted to lead the tactical unit in February after being away from it for seven years.

Ford has been a police officer for 27 years, 23 of those in various roles of emergency operations including tactical. He has also taught critical incident command at the Canadian Police College.