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    • External party to investigate Victoria police corruption complaint

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    The Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board is assigning a third-party investigator to conduct a probe into corruption within the Victoria Police Department.

    The investigation follows the implosion of a major drug prosecution after a court record revealed VicPD’s efforts to conceal an allegedly corrupt officer’s involvement in the case.

    Board co-chair Barb Desjardins would not disclose who will conduct the investigation.

    “This will be going external and I don’t want to convey any more information at this time until those agencies are contacted,” Desjardins said in an interview with CTV News.

    The board’s governance committee made the call during a private meeting on Tuesday morning. Paul Schachter, a former board member who filed the Police Act complaint that prompted the investigation, believes the discussion should have been public.

    “The public is entitled to hear what each individual member of the police board thinks about how this complaint should be investigated,” said Schachter, a retired lawyer.

    “It befuddles me why they think this should be in closed session.”

    Desjardins cited confidentiality concerns because the complaint is tied to a misconduct investigation against an officer involved in the alleged cover-up. She noted committee meetings are always private.

    “In order to deal with this issue, given the sensitivity of the complaint that it’s tied to, this would’ve been in-camera whether it was at committee meeting or it was at the board meeting,” Desjardins said.

    The board’s first meeting since the corruption controversy made headlines happened on Feb. 27.

    The bungling of the $30-million drug bust didn’t even earn a mention — at least, not during the public portion of the meeting. Jeff Lawson, the team commander for the drug investigation, was in attendance, so it’s possible the corruption concerns were discussed behind closed doors.

    “Everything that’s done in secret undermines the integrity and trust,” Schachter said.

    “I know from my time on the police board that people really don’t want their actions subject to public scrutiny; that it’s so much easier to have discussions if you don’t think anybody’s watching you.”

    More information about the governance committee’s decision to assign a third-party investigator will be shared at the board’s next public meeting on March 19, Desjardins said.

    “We are taking this very seriously,” she said. “As such, it’s really important to make sure that this investigation is able to occur in an appropriate manner.”

    Once the investigation concludes, the results will be shared publicly, she said.

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