(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By paNOW Staff

Policing

Prince Albert Police board supports Chief Bergen; calls union’s actions disappointing

Mar 11, 2022 | 9:08 PM

On the same day the union representing the city’s police officers issued a press release calling for the removal of Police Chief Jon Bergen, the Prince Albert Board of Police Commissioners has responded with its own statement.

Within the two page statement, the Board expresses the need to clarify and put in context what it referred to as “inaccurate” and “misleading” representations contained in the earlier release and made by Association President Sgt. Josh Peterson.

“It is an understatement to say that the Board as a whole is disappointed in Josh’s approach and comments”, Board Chair Darcy Sander, an education administrator and former police officer said. “Our police service and the work it does relies on standards of professionalism and good judgment that we are concerned are not demonstrated by Josh or his executive in this manner of conducting themselves.”

Within the statement issued earlier by the union, Sgt. Peterson criticized the leadership of Bergen, and expressed frustration with what he referred to as a lack of response from the police board. He also said the union felt they had no other way to be heard, other than to go public.

The Prince Albert Board of Police Commissioners is a statutory body comprised of four appointed volunteer community leaders and three members of City Council, responsible to ensure diversity‐ based community oversight and to provide governance on policing issues in Prince Albert.

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Chief of Police Jonathan Bergen reports directly to the Board. Under legislation, members of the police are responsible to Chief Bergen in the performance of their policing duties. Sgt. Peterson and four other in‐scope members of the Prince Albert Police Service are elected by union membership to represent the interests of its members to the Chief of Police.

Under Article 3.03 of the union’s Collective Agreement, the Executive can schedule a direct meeting with the Board of Police Commissioners on issues that the union executive has transparently and meaningfully discussed first with the Chief of Police.

Janet Carriere, a Police Board member, and Executive Director of Prince Albert’s Indian and Metis Friendship Center, explained that on Monday this week Josh Peterson sent his email giving the Board an ultimatum, that his executive team was issuing a press release on Friday saying members were not confident in our Chief.

“Josh said he gave us until then to come up with a “solution”. It’s in writing. It was unprofessional,” she said.

Carriere went on to explain the Board is very engaged and well informed on policing issues in Prince Albert.

“We strongly support Chief Bergen’s initiatives to insist on policing standards and member accountability in our Service. This week we learned from the Public Complaints Commission that we have five members whose standards and professionalism are currently under the scrutiny of independent agencies,” she said. “We understand that is uncomfortable for members until due process completes itself. But it is certainly no time for tactics of deflection or distraction.”

Sheryl Kimbley, works with the Prince Albert Grand Council, and is a long‐serving member of the Prince Albert Board including a former Chair..

“We are a volunteer Board, all having other jobs, but we were able to respond to the union’s request for a meeting within just a couple of days”, Kimbley said. “We offered to arrange our schedules to meet with them as early as Monday March 14th, within a week of the request. We offered another date if they needed more time to get their preparation together. We asked them to outline their concerns for us. They never got back to us.”

Board Chair Darcy Sander explained that this is not the first time the union executive has taken a political route to try to use a non‐confidence strategy to influence a change in the person to whom they report.

“We completed a process last March in which the union executive’s call to remove the Chief was focused on complaints related to Board and third party decisions. That strategy was initiated just weeks after their Association sent a letter affirming their confidence in the Chief. It’s all very well documented,” he said.

Sander then went on to explain how Article 3.03 of the board’s agreement with the union requires their executive to discuss the same issues with Chief Bergen that they want to discuss with the Board.

“The union executive has not responded to our request to identify their concerns. The recent issue reported to us that the executive discussed with Chief Bergen was a criticism in how he sent a matter of public concern out to independent investigation. The issues raised in their media release were different,” he said.

Mayor Greg Dionne, Vice‐Chair of the Police Board, says confidence votes are strategies from the past, long since proven ineffective, and added he prefers a respectful and professional approach.

“It’s widely understood that in the last municipal election union executive members supported a mayoralty candidate who made not‐so‐quiet commitments to them about the Chief’s position”, Dionne said. “It’s not a large community, and folks have a good idea who the people are who were disappointed when that candidate was unsuccessful. That’s the past. Our police officers have important work to do, and as volunteer representatives of our community, our Board has full confidence in Chief Bergen’s commitment to uphold strong professional standards and accountability in our police service.”

panews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow