Halifax Regional Police officer not facing charges after allegation by RCMP: SiRT

The waiting area of the Serious Incident Response Team, the province's independent police watchdog agency, is seen in Halifax on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. The agency investigates deaths, serious injuries, sexual assaults, domestic violence and other matters of public interest involving police officers. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)

A Halifax Regional Police officer will not face charges after the RCMP alleged he breached the public trust, according to Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT).

The investigation came after RCMP “H” Division contacted SiRT in February about the actions of an HRP officer assigned to an integrated investigative unit.

SiRT said the officer was in a position of trust with a vulnerable person and the investigation looked at whether there was a breach in that relationship.

The investigation centred on an allegation that the officer, who supposedly had been drinking, called the person and invited them over to a hotel, also mentioning it was his birthday, says SiRT.

The person told SiRT that a close friend was with them in the car when the officer called.

According to SiRT, the officer’s role in the investigative unit was to help the vulnerable person should they need it as related to the investigative mandate of the unit.

The person had just become a young adult, says SiRT, and understood that the officer was there to help them and give advice with any concerns they may have.

In its investigation, SiRT says it spoke with members of the unit the officer was on, the vulnerable person in question, that person’s mother and one of their close friends.

During its interviews, SiRT says the person and their close friend admitted that the officer did not suggest why he wanted to meet at the hotel, but both inferred it was for a “sexual purpose.”

During the person’s interview, SiRT says they couldn’t be sure it was the officer's birthday, making it harder to pinpoint the date of the call.

SiRT says the person also said their memory was hazy due to a head injury from a collision and a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Following their interviews, SiRT says the person, their friend and their mother were all concerned about how often the officer was calling.

However, SiRT says it is important to keep in mind that the officer’s job was to be in frequent contact with the person.

In an interview with SiRT, the officer admitted to being in frequent contact with the person. That was sometimes face to face, or by text message or phone call, says SiRT, but neither party kept notes on their meetings.

SiRT says the officer denied making the call in question and said meetings between the two did not happen at hotels.

But the officer refused to give his personal phone records around the time of his birthday, says SiRT, and he would not take a polygraph after meeting with counsel.

SiRT says the officer was, however, not supposed to use his personal phone when doing his job, and was instead supposed to use the one issued by his police department.

Nothing came of the interview with other members of the investigative unit, according to SiRT.

Despite the officer’s denial of making the call in question, the SiRT says, based on “a balance of probabilities,” it likely did happen.

The officer told investigators that another person, who might have a vendetta against him, may have put the person up to making the allegation to get back at the officer, but this was dismissed by SiRT.

In conclusion of its report, SiRT says there was nothing criminal about the officer making the phone call in question that could constitute a breach of trust.