$2M of taxpayer money already spent investigating alleged Durham police corruption | CBC News

An investigation into alleged criminal activity, cronyism and harassment at the Durham Regional Police Service has already cost taxpayers more than $2 million in legal fees, CBC has learned. 

After five years of legal jousting between publicly funded agencies, the police inquiry into the Toronto-area service has no end in sight. Questions are now being raised about whether there will ever be clear answers, accountability and value for the millions spent.

“I think John Q. Taxpayer would have a significant problem with that,” said Danardo Jones, an associate professor in the faculty of law at the University of Windsor who researches police oversight.

“It’s a lot of money … being used to stymie oversight and stymie accountability for police officers who are supposed to be standard-bearers when it comes to upholding the law.” 

The province’s solicitor general first called on the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC), a police oversight body, to investigate the issues within the Durham force in January 2019. 

Since then, several Durham police leaders implicated in the initial allegations have either resigned or retired and the commission itself is set to dissolve according to the new Community Safety and Policing Act.

CBC spoke to current and former Durham officers who say the service can’t heal while the investigation drags on and the force’s senior command doesn’t accept that change is needed. 

‘Untouchables’

The Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS), Canada’s ninth-largest municipal force, is east of Toronto and includes communities such as Oshawa, Pickering, Whitby and Ajax.

A number of officers came forward in late 2018 with allegations of bullying and intimidation within the force’s brass, including then-chief Paul Martin, according to Peter Brauti, a Toronto lawyer who represented some of the whistleblowers. 

Ontario’s solicitor general received “numerous allegations of misconduct,” according to court documents, and the commission’s preliminary review of operations revealed a deep sense of mistrust.

“The most commonly expressed reason for this mistrust was allegations of cronyism manifested as favouritism by senior administration of the Service which included tolerance of workplace harassment, intimidation of subordinates and retaliatory discipline,” notes an April 2020 court document. 

The commission reported receiving “consistent information” about “untouchables” inside the station who appeared to be impervious to harassment complaints as well as “allegations of criminal activity.”

One of the most serious claims involved Sgt. Nicole Whiteway’s complaint of police corruption, coverup and horrific domestic abuse allegedly made worse by the conspiring of her own police superiors and colleagues. 

Whiteway pointed fingers at Martin, deputy chiefs Uday Jaswal and Todd Rollauer, and inspector Nick Lisi, all of whom have now left or retired from the force.

 An Ottawa judge recently allowed her $40.5 million lawsuit against the Durham force and these former senior officers to move to the next stage in civil court. 

Thousands of pages of documents

In the spring of 2019, the OCPC kicked into gear and hired an outside administrator to review some of the chief’s decisions, specifically in the areas of discipline and promotions.

Meanwhile, the complaints kept coming. 

Court files reveal that by 2020, investigators had received thousands of pages of documentation from witnesses and 30 more people had come forward, asking to be interviewed. 

Martin, the chief at the time, fought back in court. His lawyer argued the complaints were not widespread and represented “old labour relations issues being tenaciously pursued by disgruntled employees, both officers and civilians.” 

In fact, the chief, the police service and its board filed several motions disagreeing with the commission’s decisions and process. But every appeal was denied. 

In July 2020, Martin resigned. 

At that point, former Durham deputy chief Uday Jaswal had already moved into a deputy role with the Ottawa Police Service where sexual harassment allegations led to his paid suspension and disciplinary charges.

Jaswal quit in disgrace in 2022, before any charges — in Durham or Ottawa — were heard.

“That’s a common strategy,” said Jones of accused officers retiring or resigning before their disciplinary case is heard.

“This idea that if the police officer is no longer with the force [then] somehow the police force is somehow beyond reproach, is asinine, but that’s what happens.” 

‘Big problem for accountability’

The arguments and motions by Durham police since the OCPC investigation started have added costs and delays, according to Tribunals Ontario.

“The progress of the investigation has been impeded by the Durham Service repeatedly refusing to cooperate and provide the information requested by the Commission to enable it to conduct the investigation in an efficient and expeditious manner,” the agency told CBC in an email. 

“This has resulted in 5 separate Court Applications, all of which have been won by the Commission, with the Court ordering the disclosure requested by the Commission and, on occasion, ordering the Durham Service to pay costs.”

Right now, the commission says it is once again fighting the service in court in an attempt to get “relevant, undisclosed information.” 

This lack of transparency is a serious issue according to Jones.

“It’s a big problem for accountability,” he said. “If any policing is being done in private, that’s something that we ought to be very concerned about.” 

CBC requested interviews with the police leadership team and no one was made available for an interview. The lawyer representing the police service in OCPC matters declined comment.

Police board fights back

The Durham Regional Police Service Board did respond.

In an email, the board blamed the commission for the significant process delays, noting its first request for an interview with the board chair was more than 40 months after the commission’s allegations and declaration of an emergency. 

“Given the significance of the allegations, the impact they have had on the DRPS, its members, and the Board, and the implications for the community’s trust in the police, the Board did not expect the investigation would still be ongoing more than five years later,” the board wrote to CBC. 

The commission charged Durham’s Deputy Chief Dean Bertrim for misconduct in February of 2023, but that disciplinary charge was withdrawn 16 months later on June 10 due to a lack of evidence.

The Durham police board sent out a media release, chastising the commission for charging Bertrim in the first place, “without sufficient evidence”. 

“This process negatively affected the reputation of the DRPS and its leadership, to say nothing of the monumental impact this had on the Deputy Chief personally, and professionally,” states the release. 

No authorities willing to speak

The Durham police board said it’s spent approximately $500,000 on legal fees since the OCPC investigation began. The police service itself told CBC it has spent about $1.46 million over the same time. They have separate legal teams.

The OCPC wouldn’t answer questions about its legal costs throughout the process. 

Given the extensive costs and lack of an outcome to the investigation, CBC also requested comments from local politicians including Durham’s Regional Chair John Henry and its Progressive Conservative MPP Todd McCarthy.

Since the investigation is ongoing neither was able to speak to CBC. Nor was Ontario’s attorney general. 

“Ministry officials are not permitted to interfere in, or comment on, tribunal processes, cases or decisions,” the Ministry of the Attorney General’s office wrote to CBC. “It would be inappropriate for the ministry to comment on a specific case.” 

Commission set to dissolve 

On April 1, the Ontario government replaced the Police Services Act.

Under the new law, the Ontario Civilian Police Commission will eventually be dissolved and other, new entities will be responsible for future cases including an Inspectorate of Policing, a Law Enforcement Complaints Agency, and the Ontario Police Arbitration and Adjudication Commission.

“The OCPC cannot accept any new appeals, applications, or requests for investigation,” Tribunals Ontario explained to CBC. 

“The OCPC continues to work diligently on its adjudicative and investigative caseloads.”

Five years on, the commission can’t yet say when its inquiry into the Durham force might end or subsequent recommendations will be published. Meanwhile, costs will add up.

The University of Windsor’s Jones said much needs to be done to increase accountability and public confidence in policing, with Durham just one example.

“Policing at its very nature is a public activity,” said Jones. “So if any policing is done in private, that’s something we ought to be very concerned about.”