Halifax Regional Police Chief has dropped his appeal of a decision made by the Nova Scotia Police Review Board regarding a former cop in a case that also detailed a hyper-sexualized culture of harassment among officers, including female cadets.
As the Examiner reported in October, then acting chief Don MacLean filed documents with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court looking to overturn a decision made by the Nova Scotia Police Review Board.
Those documents included details about officers impersonating police brass, senior officers sending inappropriate photos to female cadets, and sexual harassment of junior officers. According to the documents, when complaints were filed about the harassment, the complainants were brushed off.
From the article:
That sordid picture of the inner workings of the Halifax police department come to light because of the firing of Const. Geoffrey Sykes.
After a disciplinary decision was made by Superintendent Derrick Boyd, Sykes was fired by the department on March 7, 2022.
Sykes had then been with the department for six years. He was paid nearly $163,000 in 2021.
Sykes appealed his firing to the Police Review Board, which held a hearing over four days in October 2022 and February 2023. No news media reported on the hearing. The board issued its decision on Sept. 11, 2023, overturning Sykes’ firing.
In turn, on Oct. 17, MacLean asked the Supreme Court to review the Police Review Board’s decision. As required, in his application for a review, MacLean included the Police Review Board’s findings, which detail Boyd’s investigation.
There were three allegations against Sykes:
- Acting in a disorderly manner or in a manner that is reasonably likely to bring discredit on the reputation of the police department
- Using oppressive or abusive conduct or language towards another member
- Wilfully [sic] or negligently making a false, misleading or inaccurate statement oral or written statement or signing a false, misleading or inaccurate written statement pertaining to the member’s duties
The police review board dismissed allegations one and three, but found an exception in allegation two.
In the documents filed with the Supreme Court, MacLean requested an order to set aside or quash the board’s decision and restore the discipline on Sykes.
But on March 29, MacLean filed a notice of discontinuance asking the court to discontinue the proceeding.
Response from HRM’s lawyer
The Examiner contacted the municipality’s legal department about the decision to drop the appeal, and received this response from spokesperson Ryan Nearing on behalf of HRM lawyer Andrew Gough:
The judicial review process involves a high threshold for overturning Police Review Board decisions. In the present case, even though Halifax Regional Police disagreed with the conclusions of the Police Review Board, it formed the view in consultation with legal counsel that the likelihood of success on review did not warrant further litigation. Halifax Regional Police notes that the Police Review Board did impose discipline against the officer in question arising out of the allegations. That decision is not affected by the discontinuance.
Response from Halifax police
Still, there is the issue of the hyper-sexualized culture of harassment among Halifax cops and cadets, including senior officers sending inappropriate photos and comments to female cadets.
We also contacted Halifax Regional Police to find out how the department is addressing sexual harassment. We received this statement from public information officer Const. John MacLeod that said, in part, in 2023, sworn and civilian members of HRP took part in Workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention Training that is part of the department’s mandatory training.
Halifax Regional Police is governed by the Nova Scotia Police Act. Employees of
HRP are expected to follow the guidelines set out in HRP’s Entitlement to Dignified
Treatment Policy and the municipality’s Workplace Rights Harassment Prevention
Policy and new Respectful Workplace Policy. Work is currently underway to update
our policy on internal Workplace Harassment and to create a new conflict resolution
process known as Alternative Dispute Resolution.
MacLeod also wrote that employees who witness or experience sexual harassment are encouraged to report it.