After making allegations of bullying and a threatening and poisonous work surroundings, a former Calgary Police Service (CPS) HR director is making ready to take her complaints to the police fee.
Angela Whitney served as HR director from 2019-21 and was introduced in as a part of the service’s HR reform following the resignation of former head Sheila Ball, who left simply months into the job.
Throughout Whitney’s tenure, she claims she was bullied and harassed due to her gender, and alleges she was required to “clean over and conceal” sexual harassment that occurred to sworn and civilian girls of the drive
“The tradition of concern is reliable. Nevertheless it’s not only a tradition of concern — repercussions and reprisal are very actual,” Whitney instructed CityNews. “As is the idea of this sluggish burn, which basically [means] you’ll be burned for the remainder of your profession in case you communicate up, and I’ve seen it.”
Ball, a 25-year HR veteran within the oil and fuel discipline, defined in a 2018 CBC report that senior CPS officers exhibited a “dictatorship” type management and weren’t open to vary. She additionally says she had been humiliated and ostracized.
On high of her personal experiences, Whitney says she noticed firsthand how girls within the drive have been handled.
“Discrediting females was completely frequent observe. And so one factor that I heard generally was anytime that I met a feminine, some individuals would share with me, ‘Oh, they’re a slut, they’re … they slept with [whomever]’ or they solely received their promotion due to no matter,” Whitney mentioned.
Whitney claims girls have been subjected to video games by male officers. One in all them was referred to as “Would you?” which she says meant, “Would you’ve got intercourse with them?”
She additionally alleges she was the topic of one other recreation the place male officers would {photograph} girls, after which fats disgrace or sexualize them.
“That was actually fostered and engaged in from the management stage,” Whitney mentioned. “That was actually pervasive on the sergeant stage, and that was problematic.”
Whitney claims she witnessed the discrimination of people that recognized as 2SLGBTQ+ amongst different issues.
Calgary police reply to allegations
Calgary police mentioned in a press release to CityNews it requested Whitney to cease making “disparaging feedback.”
“As indicated in our letter to her, which she made public, she resigned from the CPS on the phrases she proposed. Her resignation was voluntary and no phrases, together with an NDA (Non-Disclosure Settlement), have been compelled on her. The phrases she is sure by are commonplace to guard the confidentiality of delicate human assets and private data she was aware about as a member of the CPS’ management staff,” the assertion reads.
Calgary Police Fee chair Shawn Cornett additionally addressed her allegations throughout February’s police fee assembly.
“We now have as a fee mentioned this and we acknowledge that there are cultural points on the service. There have been for a very long time. And simply to remark that now we have been engaged on these and there’s heaps extra to do,” she mentioned.
Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld additionally addressed the claims on the final fee assembly.
“We’ve accomplished quite a lot of work throughout the construction and capability of our HR division. We’ve modified type of how that appears by way of the make-up. Far more civilianization. Now it appears to be like a lot completely different than it did previously to cope with the complicated points that go on there,” he mentioned.
Watch: Cops with HR considerations have been promoted: Calgary police chief
Neufeld claims the police drive has come a good distance since Whitney left the service in 2021.
“I might simply say that when the person labored with us from the tip of 2019 to mid-2021, we have been laying the inspiration for important HR reform, in addition to managing our means by way of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he defined.
“Since that point, I believe we’ve made fairly a little bit of constructive course of or progress with respect to the work that we’ve accomplished.”
However Whitney doesn’t imagine a lot has modified.
She cites the latest choices the place the chief would get rid of complaints like racial profiling as “non-serious” beneath the Police Act.
She additionally says different officers have comparable points.
“Experiencing harassment. They’re experiencing discrimination. And the processes and insurance policies which might be in place, they don’t seem to be supportive.”
She thinks a mass exodus should occur on the govt stage to deal with the systemic points.
Different allegations of harassment, poor work surroundings
Kim Prodaniuk sued CPS, the Calgary Police Affiliation, the police chief, and the town for allegations of sexual assault in 2019. She labored with the service from 2007 to 2017, leaving on account of stress.
Her affidavit says she was subjected to inappropriate sexual conversations and questions by fellow officers whereas on obligation, having to carry out simulated sexual acts or being humiliated throughout coaching for the intercourse commerce unit, and “being threatened or ostracized by fellow cops for talking out about her remedy,” amongst a number of allegations. This additionally included being prevented from looking for redress for her considerations or accidents and harm to her popularity.
Nevertheless, in 2021, Decide Jim Eamon dominated that Prodaniuk’s lawsuit didn’t correctly go earlier than the courtroom, and may have gone by way of labour arbitration.
Prodaniuk appealed the choice in 2023, however that was denied, with the courtroom saying it was a labour dispute and may have gone to an arbitrator.
As well as, police officer Jennifer Magnus Ward spoke out about harassment and intimidation throughout the service at a police fee assembly originally of 2017 and provided her resignation.
“I’m not leaving the Calgary Police Service, it has left me,” she mentioned on the time.
Nevertheless, then police Chief Roger Chaffin didn’t settle for her resignation and wished her to rethink. She formally stepped down in March that 12 months.
Watch: Former police officer Jennifer Magnus Ward addresses police fee
Earlier than the fee assembly the place Ward delivered her resignation, former metropolis councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart met secretly with 13 cops in 2016 at her house, who all alleged harassment at CPS. She says they did this as a result of they felt that they had no different plan of action.
Colley-Urquhart got here out publically with the allegations, saying the CPS HR division must be shut down and officers ought to report back to metropolis HR.
When the police fee introduced complaints in opposition to her for probably breaking the code of conduct, together with for talking on behalf of the fee with out specific authority and utilizing her place as a commissioner to advance private pursuits, Colley-Urquhart resigned.
Those self same cops, together with Ward, filed complaints of harassment and bullying to Chaffin on March 3, 2017.
