Woman alleges suspended Victoria police officer threatened her
A woman who filed a complaint against a Victoria police officer alleges he threatened to leak explicit videos of her.
Felicia McCreight, 22, claims she was having an affair with VicPD officer Jose Bingham earlier this year.
“He said, ‘OK, I want to take sex tapes of you as reassurance — and I quote — that you won’t tell my wife,’” McCreight said in an interview with CTV News.
McCreight claims Bingham said the videos would be leaked online if she told his wife. She said at least 12 videos were recorded on his phone because at the time, she felt safe with him.
Bingham has not responded to CTV’s request for comment. There are currently no charges against the officer and the allegations against him have not been proven in court.
“I always very much viewed Jose as a respected police officer,” McCreight said. “He has worked in the field for decades.”
McCreight said they met when she was 15 and dating Bingham’s son. At the time, she said she was on the street and using drugs. McCreight said she got sober and they reconnected last year, when she was 21 and Bingham was 49.
“I very much trusted him,” she said.
When the relationship started to crumble, McCreight said she asked for the videos.
“He was not letting me have them,” she said.
INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY
In July, McCreight reported Bingham to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC). It tasked Vancouver police with the investigation.
“Due to the nature and seriousness of the allegations, the commissioner considered it to be in the public interest to direct this investigation be completed by an external police agency,” deputy police complaint commissioner Andrea Spindler said in a statement.
Bingham was suspended shortly after McCreight said she provided evidence to Vancouver police and went public with the allegations on TikTok.
“The Victoria Police Department takes allegations of misconduct seriously and fully supports the investigative process and this (suspension) decision,” VicPD said in a statement.
'YOU RETRAUMATIZED ME BY DISMISSING ME'
Before going to the OPCC, McCreight said she told Bingham’s wife and then reported him to VicPD.
“I told (VicPD) everything. I said, ‘He threatened me to post my stuff online,’” she said.
“I said, ‘I’m scared that now that I’ve told his wife that he’s going to carry out that threat.’”
She claims an officer told her it was a personal issue and not a criminal matter.
“He was incredibly rude to me,” she said. “You retraumatized me by dismissing me altogether.”
VicPD said trauma-informed practice is part of many of its required training courses.
“We are committed to providing culturally safe, responsive and trauma-informed services and providing a victim-centred approach that supports victim safety,” VicPD said.
'I FEEL EMPOWERED'
McCreight said over the past few months, she felt powerless, but coming forward has helped change that.
“I feel relieved and I feel empowered as a young woman to share my story because it takes a lot of courage to stand up against… a police officer, but also the whole department who treated me poorly,” she said.
“I’m also hoping that it empowers other women like me who have been victimized to stand up for themselves and share their stories.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Students at Curé-Antoine-Labelle High School near Montreal are protesting after they say their school's administration started pushing what they call a 'sexist' dress code.
Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler is being disciplined for not having bodycam activated
The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship is receiving 'corrective action' for failing to have his body-worn camera activated.
'I won't stop,' Celine Dion says in trailer for upcoming doc about her health woes
Celine Dion's fans are getting a first glimpse of the superstar's struggle with a rare neurological disorder in an emotional trailer for an upcoming documentary about her career and life.
Air travel is expensive. WestJet wants the government to do more to change that
WestJet is asking the federal government to put measures in place to lower ticket costs for travellers, but questions remain on who would foot the bill.
Hundreds have applied for this 'adventurer' job in Banff National Park
Coined as Banff's 'ultimate summer job,' the Moraine Lake Bus Company says hundreds of people from across the world have applied for its adventurer position.
Ottawa police investigating death of a gosling in Kanata
Ottawa police are investigating after someone allegedly stomped on a gosling in Kanata. Police say it appears that Canada geese laid eggs in the area, 'and on May 21, a suspect stomped on one of the hatched babies.'
Treasury Board president urges managers to be flexible on exemptions for new 3-day office mandate
The president of the Treasury Board is standing by the federal government's new hybrid office mandate for federal public servants, but is urging managers to be flexible for staff requiring exemptions.