May 10, 2020
Spare a sympathetic thought for Ottawa police supt. Isobel Granger. She was named this week to head a new internal police directorate that aims to help quell the mess of harassment, ethical breaches and discrimination the force has been struggling with of late.
It’s a tall order. Ottawans love their cops, but the problems seem to be growing, not shrinking, and that’s clearly frustrating for Chief Peter Sloly.
Here are some recent examples of why Granger’s group has been created:
• An officer is alleged to have filmed and made fun of mentally ill women whom he had arrested. According to the cops, he was circulating his twisted video among colleagues;
• Three officers, along with some civilians, face RCMP corruption charges because they allegedly sold information about traffic accidents to tow-truck drivers;
• A meme showing some officers who face misconduct allegations and others who struggled with personal issues has been shared around the service. Most of the cops depicted are non-white, prompting the chief to label the photo “an overt act of racism”;
• Scant weeks ago, a deputy police chief was suspended. He faces disciplinary charges of sexual harassment and non-consensual touching;
• An off-duty cop was charged early this week with impaired driving.
There’s no doubt in our minds that the vast majority of local police officers are decent, thoughtful people devoted to public service.
But this rap sheet of bad behaviour isn’t pleasant, and Sloly is right to want some serious culture change.
Yet, when a public organization has a problem, there’s always the temptation to create a commission or separate entity to deal with it. Sloly must take care that this is not the case with Granger’s new directorate. The chief is ultimately responsible for the culture of his police force, and the police services board (still without a permanent, elected head) is responsible for ensuring we have a well-functioning police force.
So, while wishing Granger well, we’ll want to know that; a) the findings of what is now formally called the “respect, values and inclusion (RVI) directorate” will be publicly reported on a regular basis; and b) that there are some (forgive us for using this word ) “measurables” attached. How will the force know if it is making inroads in battling intolerance, and creating a more inclusive and ethical police force?
Some tough but necessary work lies ahead.
Readers should note that Peter Sloly has NOT addressed the issues. Sloly has engaged in denial and minimization, a classic example of criminal behaviour. In this case, he has set up a "new internal police directorate" that wait for it, "aims to help quell the mess of harassment, ethical breaches and discrimination the force has been struggling with of late." Note, it avoids mention of Criminal Offences by Police which Peter Sloly "minimizes" as "Ethical breaches". That's code speak for "no charges will be laid", at worst, it means disciplinary action, that could be a few words spoken without anythng negative on the officers record. Its this long established pratice that encourages criminal conduct with impunity by the Ottawa Police. The Ottawa Police have their cross hairs set on the most vulnerable in society.
She has no conscience