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New investigation ordered into handcuffing of naked female Edmonton police officer

New investigation ordered into handcuffing of naked female Edmonton police officer

An internal police investigation of the handcuffing of a naked, sleeping female constable was "grossly inadequate" and needs to be conducted again, the Law Enforcement Review Board (LERB) has directed.

In April 2013, a female Edmonton Police Service officer had sought medical assistance for a mental health concern. When she couldn't be reached by phone the next day, a team of officers — including two uniformed officers and four members of the tactical team — went to her home to check on her.

At issue is what happened next.

All of the formal police reports that were eventually filed agreed that the officers entered the home through the garage and found the woman sleeping on her stomach in her bed, unclothed but under the blankets. One of the officers pulled the covers down to her waist.

At that point, the officers' stories diverge, says the LERB report, which was released Friday.

Some said that handcuffs were placed on one of the constable's wrists. She and one other officer, identified as Const. Slemko, say both arms were handcuffed behind her back. One report didn't mention handcuffs at all.

About two-and-a-half years later, the woman learned of the discrepancies between the official reports filed within the police databases. Further, she was told by an EPS employee that some of the reports "were altered to soften their contents," the LERB report said.

At that point, in January 2016, she filed an official complaint and demanded an investigation into the inconsistent accounts. "Tactical members involved in this have been deceitful since April 1, 2013, when the incident occurred," her complaint said.

Flawed investigation

While the LERB's decision is specifically related to the investigation of that 2016 complaint, the board also looked at four previous investigations into the incident — several of which were conducted at the request of then-police chief Rod Knecht.

The board's report was particularly critical of the fact that, despite the different versions of what happened in the constable's bedroom, she was never interviewed or asked for further details. Similarly, the officer who corroborated her version was not interviewed.

The LERB stated that these types of omissions were unacceptable gaps in the investigation.

"At a minimum, in our view, it would have been an obvious, reasonable and necessary investigative step … to have required witness explanatory reports and to have interviewed the appellant, the witness police officers and the respondents," the LERB said.

"We find that the investigation into this complaint was grossly inadequate and flawed."

The review board has directed Chief Dale McFee, who was sworn in on Feb. 1, to conduct another investigation into the matter. The board strongly suggests that investigation conduct interviews or obtain statements from the complainant and from the other witness officers regarding "what transpired in relation to the handcuffing."

McFee has agreed to conduct a new investigation, and will not be making public comment about it until it is complete, EPS spokesperson Scott Pattison said Tuesday.

The LERB is a quasi-judicial body which adjudicates appeals related to police officer discipline. Its hearings are open to the public and documents entered into evidence are supposed to be accessible by the public, just as they are in a court.