Demotion of VicPD officer who leaked documents to media will be reviewed: OPCC
CTV
The decision to demote a member of the Victoria Police Department who allegedly provided confidential reports to the media will be reviewed, according to B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.
The decision to demote a member of the Victoria Police Department who allegedly provided confidential reports to the media will be reviewed, according to B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.
The watchdog announced the review Friday, saying it came after the officer – Sgt. Peter Gill, now retired – challenged the findings of a misconduct investigation that found he had committed neglect of duty by providing “unredacted” documents to a journalist.
Officers who face dismissal or demotion are automatically entitled to a review either by a retired judge or via a public hearing, according to the OPCC, which is the agency that oversees misconduct cases involving municipal officers.
VicPD contacted the OPCC in March of 2023 after a reporter told the department they had copies of the final report into a historical misconduct investigation.
“The VicPD reported that the information contained in the (final investigation report) included private, non-disclosable information including the identities of four members, third parties, and a vulnerable affected person. The (report) also reportedly contained serious allegations against the members, some of which were not substantiated by the discipline authority,” the announcement of the review says.
The findings of individual misconduct investigations are not released or published by the OPCC. The office publishes an annual report highlighting some cases, but officers are not named. Typically, the OPCC can’t and won’t confirm if a complaint has been received or if an investigation is underway.
An investigation into the matter was ordered, with the OPCC finding that what the VicPD member was alleged to have done could have amounted to “neglecting, without good or sufficient cause, to promptly and diligently do anything that it is one’s duty as a member to do, in relation to releasing confidential information.”
