CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — An investigation has determined that a Charlottetown police officer violated the code of conduct when handling a case.
The file, which was summarized on the P.E.I. police commissioner’s website, states that the events under investigation began when a person contacted Charlottetown Police Services to report they had been “administered a drug in a local bar without their knowledge”.
The person said the officer “used language that humiliated them” and then did not investigate the incident.
Police commissioner Cindy Wedge could not confirm when the incident occurred in case it identified the victim, but she told SaltWire the complaint was made within 12 months of the incident, as per the legislation and was not a historic case of drink tampering.
“It came into our office as a code of conduct complaint,” said Wedge in an interview with SaltWire Network on May 24.
Complaints can take one of two streams once they reach the police commissioner, she said – criminal violations or code of conduct infractions.
Code of conduct complaints are handled internally, so the complaint was forwarded to Charlottetown’s police chief and was then investigated by the professional standards officer, Sgt. Chris Watts.
SaltWire Network left two phone messages with Watts on May 24 but received no response by deadline.
“In this case, the report said there was clear and convincing evidence to support the allegation of misconduct,” said Wedge.
However, the officer involved resigned before the investigation was completed, and the police department no longer has the jurisdiction to discipline the officer under the Police Act, said the website.
The department informed the person and offered a written apology, said Wedge.