Hamilton police have concluded their review of an officer who allegedly donated $100 to the Ottawa protest against COVID-19 mandates, but won’t say what it found or how it is following up.
Spokesperson Jackie Penman confirmed the professional standards branch’s (PSB) review ended on Wednesday, but has refused to confirm if the officer donated or if they are being reprimanded.
“We do not comment on any matter reviewed by PSB as it relates to an employee,” Penman wrote in an email.
The review began after CBC Hamilton showed the service a social media post with the allegations.
This comes after data — which was hacked illegally and then released — appeared to identify thousands of people who donated to the protests through the website GiveSendGo.
A check by CBC News found that multiple names in the hacked data set correspond to names, dates and donation amounts collected independently by CBC News as the donations rolled in to GiveSendGo.
Ontario Provincial Police, and the Toronto Police Service and Windsor Police Service are also reviewing potential donations by officers.
Donation may conflict with Police Services Act
Penman said the Police Services Act states officers are allowed to be a member of or hold office in a political party or other organizations engaged in political activity. They can donate to political parties or groups engaged in political activity, it says.
Former Ottawa police chief Charles Bordeleau said any active police officer donating to a campaign like GiveSendGo is in conflict and potentially in breach of the act.
“Especially when the donation is being made to an organization that is conducting illegal activity while at the same time the police are trying to put an end to that illegal activity,” he said.
Ottawa’s current interim police chief, Steve Bell, recently warned any member who may have donated money to occupiers or otherwise helped them during the protests.
“If you helped support the illegal occupation, there is not room for you in this organization,” said Bell during a police services board meeting, adding there are “ongoing internal reviews” around potential conduct of members “that we take very seriously.”
“Those will be investigated and reported on as those investigations unfold.”
Researcher says it’s in public interest to know
Erick Laming, a criminology lecturer at Trent University who researches police use of force and accountability, said it’s a tricky situation for police services, but it’s in the public interest to know more.
“I always think the police should be transparent in the activity of officers, especially if it’s condoning illegal behaviour or activities,” he said.
“Most of my research looks at use of force issues and even that we don’t really receive very much information … I don’t expect this to be any different.”
Source: CBC