Two B.C. cops to face disciplinary hearing after Cuban vacation
Credit to Author: David Carrigg| Date: Wed, 02 Oct 2019 22:10:19 +0000
Two B.C. police officers will face a disciplinary process over their behaviour while on vacation in Cuba last year.
According to a prepared statement, a B.C. police complaint commissioner investigation that was launched in January into the off-duty actions of Vancouver police Const. Mark Simms and Port Moody police Const. Jordan Long found there was enough evidence to proceed to a disciplinary process.
“If misconduct is proven to have occurred, the external discipline authority may impose a range of disciplinary or corrective measures up to and including dismissal,” the statement from the commissioner read.
Andrea Spindler, B.C.’s deputy police complaint commissioner, said the discipline proceeding wouldn’t be open to the public.
“The commissioner has determined that it is in the public interest to release limited information, but in order to protect the integrity of the proceedings no further information will be released at this time,” she wrote.
The case dates to March 2017, when Simms was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl from Ontario, while Long was accused of being an accessory. The pair were vacationing in Varadero, Cuba, at the time.
As per Cuban law, the pair weren’t allowed to leave the country until a trial had been held. In November, the pair were acquitted, however the government appealed that ruling. In early January that appeal was dismissed and the pair returned to Canada.
Upon their arrival, the commissioner began an investigation to see whether the pair had brought discredit to their departments. At the time, it was stated that the investigators would interview the young woman who made the allegations and her family.
On Wednesday, it was revealed there was “sufficient evidence to proceed to a disciplinary process, that includes a hearing.”
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner is a civilian, independent office that oversees complaints, investigations and discipline involving municipal police in B.C. Under the Police Act, an on- or off-duty police officer commits misconduct if they conduct themselves in a manner that the police officer knows, or ought to know, would be likely to bring discredit on the municipal police department.
According to Vancouver police, Simms is on active duty with the department.
On its website, Global Affairs Canada warns travellers that Cuban police don’t lay charges until an investigation is complete: “Canadians who have been arrested, even for a minor incident, should expect long delays to resolve their cases and may not be allowed to leave the country.”