Matt Skof, police union head, says the mayor needs to hold chief accountable
Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau cleared in father-in-law's traffic ticket call
The president of the Ottawa Police Association says the morale of sworn and civilian members of the police is declining and is calling on Mayor Jim Watson to address what he calls a lack of accountability for the police chief.
"It's disturbing right now," Matt Skof said.
"It's a very difficult position to be in when members have direct concerns around internal leadership. That in itself has a significant meaning."
Skof's comments come the day after it became public Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau was cleared in a conflict of interest case related to the handling of a family member's traffic ticket.
Union did not participate in OCPC
The Ontario Civilian Police Commission cleared Bordeleau of wrongdoing after he phoned the Provincial Offences Court office in January to learn the name of the prosecutor assigned to his wife's father's careless driving charge.
Bordeleau is married to lawyer Lynda Bordeleau, who acts as general counsel for Peel Regional Police. Her father is former Gloucester police chief Lester Thompson.
The charge was eventually dismissed.
The commission's report was delivered to the Ottawa Police Services Board on Aug. 8
Skof had made a complaint to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director before the issue went to the commission. The OIPRD deals with civilian complaints so there was an issue over whether a police officer could file a complaint against another within the same service.
The union didn't participate in the OCPC review because they were still appealing their standing with the OIPRD.
"We made it clear to them that we were waiting for the judicial review to occur and to resolve itself prior to participating," Skof said.
Mayor needs to step in: Skof
He said it was inappropriate for the commission to go forward before the OIPRD appeal was resolved. Skof said the public and the mayor need to force the police services board to start a proper investigation.
"The public input needs to go to the mayor's office because the police services board has abdicated their responsibility completely to provide oversight on the police executive. Without the mayor's influence, these issues will not be addressed," he said.
"These internal issues cannot be resolved with a transparent process. The members are held accountable. And rightfully so, there is proper oversight of police officers. What we're seeing now is a double standard. That's when you have morale issues."
Bordeleau has denied any wrongdoing in the case.
The commission report says the charge against Bordeleau's father-in-law was dropped due to circumstance unrelated to the chief's intervention.
"Chief Bordeleau did not attempt to use his position to influence the outcome of the Highway Traffic Act matter nor to communicate with the prosecutors," reads the report.
"The withdrawal of the charge happened because the civilian witness did not attend and there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. Withdrawal of a charge of this type in these circumstances was consistent with the practices adopted by the City of Ottawa in the prosecution of Highway Traffic Act offences."
An excerpt was made available to the media by the police services board.