Woman seeks tougher penalty for police officer’s sexual misconduct

Article content material

A 20-hour pay forfeiture imposed on a Calgary police officer for sending sexual textual content messages to a lady in search of assistance on a home battle case is just too lenient and ought to be reviewed, a legislation enforcement watchdog panel heard Wednesday.

Roopa Wickson encountered Sgt. David Keagan in February 2021 when he was trying right into a home criticism involving the girl’s ex-husband.

Article content material

Article content material

Quickly after that, she obtained textual content messages from Keagan improperly propositioning her and she or he reported that to the officer’s co-worker.

Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld ordered an inside investigation after the Alberta Severe Incident Response Workforce mentioned the probe ought to stay with the police service.

Following a disciplinary listening to, Keagan was ordered to forfeit 20 hours’ pay and to step again from a place at Bow Valley School.

Wickson considers that sanction far too mild and the product of an unreasonable course of that lacked transparency and a correct weighing of proof, her lawyer Amy Matychuk advised the Regulation Enforcement Evaluation Board Wednesday.

She famous the board already dominated the chief’s actions within the investigation “weren’t procedurally truthful” and granted Wednesday’s enchantment listening to.

“All I’m asking is for the board to proceed exercising its mandate,” mentioned Matychuk, including Wickson was a single mom on the time.

“(Wickson) was in a extremely weak place and an individual in energy (abused his place).”

The lawyer mentioned Keagan’s disciplinary listening to solely thought-about two of 13 textual content messages the officer despatched to Wickson on two separate days and the officer presiding over it had wrongly acknowledged the girl had initiated the sexual proposition.

Article content material

Article content material

“The presiding officer made an faulty conclusion Ms. Wickson had initiated this, he made an improper inference Wickson was hitting on Sgt. Keagan,” mentioned Matychuk.

“In 2024 we’ve made good strides in our society in addressing sexual harassment as a precedence and that is simply not the best way to proceed.”

Shopper left traumatized by whole state of affairs, lawyer says

She additionally mentioned following the sanctions being imposed on Keagan, a letter despatched by Neufeld to Wickson didn’t point out the penalty or her proper to enchantment it.

“The chief did not comply with the (Alberta) Police Act — the complainant’s procedural rights had been breached,” mentioned Matychuk, including the board ought to order one other disciplinary listening to be held on the case, which has left her shopper traumatized.

However a lawyer representing Neufeld and Keagan mentioned the matter was at all times taken critically, noting ASIRT was initially alerted to it earlier than it was investigated by the Calgary police skilled requirements part.

And Michael Mysak mentioned Wickson solely made the criticism when she was going to face expenses of her personal and produced solely two of the textual content messages for investigators.

Article content material

“Ms. Wickson refused to talk to skilled requirements . . . she negotiated the criticism to an agreed assertion of information that restricted the criticism to the 2 texts,” Mysak advised the LERB.

Even when all of the texts had been submitted as proof, they had been related in nature and “there’s nothing to counsel they’d have resulted in a materially totally different penalty.”

Although Neufeld didn’t point out a proper of enchantment within the letter to Wickson, that’s moot as a result of an enchantment was being heard by the LERB.

And he mentioned because the Neufeld thought-about the case a service criticism, that made him the complainant, “so the chief can be reporting to himself.”

The board can solely order one other disciplinary listening to if there’s proof the unique course of was “flawed or tainted” and there’s no suggestion of that, added Mysak.

The penalties levied on Keagan, he mentioned, are in keeping with earlier rulings and on a cautious consideration of Wickson’s case.

“This resolution was well-articulated, coherent, based mostly on the information and effectively inside what was permitted,” he mentioned. “It was handled all alongside as severe.”

Keagan is at the moment serving with the Calgary Police Service.

The LERB is to ship a binding resolution inside 60 days.

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

X (Twitter) @BillKaufmannjrn

Article content material