Saint John police chief reacts to 9 officers seeking judicial review after complaints about him dismissed
CBC
The Saint John police chief wants a chance to weigh in on a request by nine officers to have a court review the dismissal of their conduct complaints against him.
Chief Robert Bruce is seeking intervener status in the legal action the officers filed in response to decisions by the New Brunswick Police Commission and the Saint John Board of Police Commissioners.
Bruce, who has been chief of the Saint John Police Force since July 2021, is not currently a party in the proceeding before the Court of King’s Bench, but he wants to have a say.
Nine officers are seeking a judicial review of the dismissal of their “workplace harassment” complaints by the two oversight bodies, according to the provincial association that advocates on behalf of municipal officers.
No information about the nature of the complaints has been released, and court documents that contain details about the allegations, including affidavits from the officers, are under the temporary sealing order.
But the complainants — Sgt. Andrew Belyea, Staff Sgt. Andrew MacBean, Const. Christopher Messer, Const. Donald Shannon, Const. Duane Squires, Const. Emily Hobbs, Const. Mary Gellaty, Insp. Samantha McInnis and Sgt. Stacy Humphrey — are seeking a judicial review of decisions by the provincial commission, other court documents show.
The independent oversight body dismissed seven of the complaints filed under the New Brunswick Police Act “because they were ‘frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith,’” according to a letter to the court from Jamie Eddy, a lawyer representing the Saint John Board of Police Commissioners. His letter does not mention the other two complaints.
Under the act, the Saint John board "maintains and operates" the force, Eddy said in the Sept. 17 letter, while the provincial commission manages the public complaints process related to the conduct of municipal and regional police officers in the province, according to its website.
"Those [seven] decisions were by the New Brunswick Police Commission to either summarily dismiss a complaint without further investigation or to uphold the summary dismissal of a complaint without further investigation," Eddy wrote.
The Saint John board is seeking a publication ban and sealing order on the court documents, arguing there is a substantial risk they “may undermine the public confidence in law enforcement.”
The board and provincial commission are also seeking to have the matter dismissed, arguing that the complainants don't have the legal standing to seek a judicial review..
The lawyers representing the complainants did not respond to requests for comment, and the officers reached directly declined to comment.
The Saint John Board of Police Commissioners, which consists of two council representatives, four citizens appointed by council, one appointed by the province, and the chief as an ex-officio member, did not respond to a request for comment.
New Brunswick Police Commission chair Marc Léger said the commission could not comment on matters before the courts.
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