The chair of the Sarnia Police Service (SPS) Board says they're awaiting the outcomes of criminal and workplace investigations into conduct complaints against suspended Sarnia Police Chief Derek Davis.
In an email to Sarnia News Today, former city councillor and local business owner Nathan Colquhoun said the Law Enforcement Complaint Agency (LECA) has suspended its investigation into the complaint he filed after the director learned the matter is now the subject of a criminal investigation.
SPS Board Chair Kelly Ash confirmed they are aware of the criminal investigation, but said she couldn't provide much of a comment.
"We have to sit back and wait for both the criminal investigation and the workplace investigation to run its due course," Ash said.
With regard to the workplace investigation, Ash said they're frequently updated.
"We get biweekly updates from Marshall [Workplace] Law, telling us where they are, how it's going, and the next steps... but no conclusions yet," Ash said.
The Toronto-based firm, led by founder Nathaniel Marshall, was retained in May to conduct an independent, external investigation into workplace harassment complaints against Chief Davis, Deputy Police Chief Ron Hansen and a civilian member.
Ash noted that regardless of rank, officers are still paid while suspended.
"It's legislated, we have to pay them until such time if there's charges filed against an officer," Ash said. "At that point, then we reevaluate. We seek guidance from the Inspectorate of Policing and the [Ministry of the] Solicitor General office to determine, if it's appropriate, we can apply at that point to suspend without pay."
It's unknown how long the investigations could take, but Ash said they don't want them to be rushed.
"We want it to be very thorough, so that the outcome is the correct outcome," Ash said. "We've given no guidance to Nathaniel Marshall as to what we were looking for. It was just, these are the allegations and we need you to do an investigation. So, he's being very thorough. He's interviewing multiple, multiple people, and then he'll provide his outcome."
When asked if the investigations feel like a dark cloud is hanging over the service, Ash admitted that waiting has been frustrating for both board members and SPS members.
"It's the uncertainty of it and social media is the worst thing in the world right now, because there's so much false information being put out there," said Ash. "As a board, [we] can't publicly comment on anything. So, I can't dispel all of these rumours that are spreading around because I'm bound by legislation to be quiet. That's how a workplace investigation works."
Former Toronto Deputy Chief Mike Federico is serving as Sarnia's acting chief.
He signed a one year agreement earlier this year, which can be terminated upon completion of the workplace harassment investigation involving Davis.
