Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell’s bombshell allegations against his city’s police department won’t be investigated, B.C.’s Police Complaint Commissioner has ruled.
Atwell levelled the allegations in January, after an incident in which he called police to a home following a "heated" exchange with another man.
In a press conference, Atwell admitted to having an extra-marital affair and suggested officers may have leaked details about the reported altercation.
The OPCC emphasized that Atwell’s complaint was “treated no differently than any other complaint received by a member of the public,” and was found to be inadmissible under the Police Act.
The office said all parties took part in a months-long alternative dispute resolution process, even bringing in former B.C. Attorney General and dispute resolution expert Wally Oppal, but talks broke down in May.
While the basis behind the decision is unclear, B.C.’s Police Complaint Commissioner Stan Lowe said Atwell has been provided a detailed written explanation of the decision.
He added that Atwell could potentially apply to B.C. Supreme Court for a judicial review of the ruling.
In a separate allegation, Atwell claimed he had been unfairly targeted by police, saying he was pulled over four times and forced to take a breathalyzer twice. None of those stops resulted in tickets.
A report released by B.C.’s Information and Privacy Commissioner in March backed up an additional complaint made by Atwell.
He alleged that a spyware program installed on City Hall computers violated employees’ privacy rights by taking automatic screenshots every 30 seconds and providing access to things like banking transactions, private passwords and confidential correspondence.
Commissioner Elizabeth Denham agreed with his claims and recommended the city disable a number of features from the program as well as destroy all data that had been collected.
