Vancouver police officer dismissed for misconduct
Credit to Author: Tiffany Crawford| Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2020 22:00:43 +0000
A Vancouver police officer has been dismissed for misconduct following an inappropriate relationship with a junior officer.
The junior officer, Const. Nicole Chan, committed suicide last January after nine years with the VPD.
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner says the investigation, which was conducted by the New Westminster Police Department, found that Sgt. David Van Patten was in an inappropriate relationship with Chan while also serving as a human resources officer for the VPD.
On Jan. 2, the disciplinary authority for the case, Chief Officer Dave Jones of the Transit police, determined that three allegations of discreditable conduct against Van Patten were substantiated. He ordered Van Patten be dismissed from the VPD.
Van Patten is one of two Vancouver police officers investigated internally for their relationships with Chan. Sgt. Greg McCullough, who resigned from the force, was handed a 15-day suspension in 2018.
McCullough received five days “for failing to disclose to his managers a relationship” and another 10 “for entering into a relationship with Nicole knowing that she was in a vulnerable state mentally and emotionally,” according to the complaint office.
Vancouver Police Constable Nicole Chan died by suicide in January 2019.
Chan’s sister, Jenn Chan, said her sister complained to the police chief in 2017 about inappropriate relationships with two senior officers. After the complaint, Chan was put on stress leave, and an internal investigation into the two other officers was launched.
Jenn Chan told Postmedia that she believed the officers’ conduct played a role in contributing to Nicole’s deteriorating mental state, sense of self and self-worth.
Police officers facing dismissal have an automatic right to request the decision be reviewed by a retired judge through a public hearing, or the police complaint commissioner may order an inquest, although no determination has been made.
Andrea Spindler, deputy police complaint commissioner, said in a statement Thursday that this is “a serious and tragic matter.”
Spindler said no more details would be disclosed at this time.
— with file from Harrison Mooney