Sarnia's police services board has to decide if a complaint against the city's police chief by a city councillor warrants further investigation.
Nathan Colquhoun has filed a complaint against Norm Hansen with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD), the civilian body that oversees complaints about police.
Colquhoun told Blackburn News he took the action after the chief filed an integrity commissioner complaint against him, allegedly for pressing for answers to questions about the department's handling of the Jaime McCabe-Wyville case. She's the Staff Sgt. who alleges she was criminally harassed and assaulted by a fellow officer.
Mayor Mike Bradley is chair of the police services board. He said it's up to the board to decide if the independent police review office should investigate or take no further action.
"The board when it receives any complaint against the chief has a process it has to follow," said Bradley. "Keep it confidential, they have to review the complaint, and see if it constitutes an offence of law, unsatisfactory work, performance or misconduct."
Bradley said he has concerns about the process, not just on this complaint but others as well.
"We're not allowed to have submissions, not allowed to talk to the person that the complaint is directed at. We have to decide on that basis, with no information beyond the complaint, whether it should be upheld or investigated."
Colquhoun said Integrity Commissioner Paul Watson dismissed Chief Hansen's complaint against him.
The councillor said questions he's been seeking answers to include why the police service failed to publicly disclose that an independent investigation by Windsor police found there were reasonable grounds that a fellow officer had assaulted and harassed McCabe-Wyville, and why the officer in question is still working. It was disclosed to the public that the Windsor investigation determined there was no prospect for conviction.
The police service later reported that a subsequent third-party independent report by an outside lawyer found McCabe-Wyville was not a victim of workplace violence but there was evidence of a toxic workplace within the service due to widespread gossip. The full report by Helen Daniel has not been made public.
In his complaint to the OIPRD, Colquhoun alleges the police chief "used his position of power and influence to manipulate city staff to provide him confidential information so he could use it to file a complaint against me."
A statement from Chief Hansen Friday afternoon did not specifically respond to Colquhoun's complaint, but did address in some detail, recent media reports and social media posts about the McCabe-Wyville matter.
Mayor Bradley said the police board is committed to following the rule of law under the police act. He said the board will take its time considering the complaint against the chief and he expects a decision within the next month or so.
-With files from Melanie Irwin and Colin Gowdy