1327 replies to this topic

[Sparky]

No. Helps claimed that she was planning to investigate the allegations of assault and harassment, but the letter that she intended to send to the OPCC about the matter was mishandled by her EA and was never sent.

So there were two letters then that her EA forgot to send to the OPCC? The cover letter that I linked and another letter that was going to ask for another investigation?

[Sparky]

I better go back and read some more.

[Rob Randall]

I better go back and read some more.

 

It's a freaking Rashomon, I tell you.

[David Bratzer]

That would be Gallivan's assistant.

 

A few interesting facts about Patricia Gallivan, QC: While she was conducting an independent investigation of Chief Elsner on behalf of the two co-chairs of the Victoria & Esquimalt Police Board, she was also a member of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Board. From 2014 until present, she was also the chair of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee for this same police board (Metro Vancouver Transit Police).

[Sparky]

No. Helps claimed that she was planning to investigate the allegations of assault and harassment, but the letter that she intended to send to the OPCC about the matter was mishandled by her EA and was never sent.

 

I think you have been duped by a slight of hand as it were.

 

I think that the letter that would have launched the "planning to investigate" scenario that you are referring to IS the cover letter that she received from their investigator which is the ONLY document that mentions the harassment allegations...that didn't (for some reason) make it's way to Stan's desk.

 

Sure there was a letter (if it had only been sent to Stan Lowe would have cleared everything up nicely) but it was a letter advising the co-chairs, not a letter of what they were planning to do about it. (it's all in the way an excuse

clarification is worded)

 

Elsner remained at his post for 6 months after the co-chairs received the cover letter from their investigator that contained the sexual harassment allegations. 

 

That's plenty of time to figure out that the mail didn't get through and that Elsner was still showing up for work in the morning.

[Sparky]

^^ Boy she sure was busy. All while operating a law practise. Was there any conflict of interests in that arrangement?

 

I suppose that there is some rule somewhere that prevents her from shouting anything from the mountaintops though.

[Sparky]

David Broadland has updated his article about how the co-chairs of the Victoria Police Board handled the internal investigation into former police chief Frank Elsner’s inappropriate behaviour.

The title of the piece is now “The Mayor’s Million Dollar Coverup”.

Amongst other details, David drills down into what information Helps and Desjardins were in possession of during the 45 days between the time that they received their investigator’s report and when they denied the existance of the investigation and their denial of any of the former chief’s wrongdoings except the “Twitter exchange”.

The police board co-chair’s public denials stating that they performed their duties as instructed by their lawyers and the OPCC, and their public criticism of Stan Lowe’s scathing comments regarding their indescretions are starting to appear as desperate efforts to continue their deflection of the truth.

Have we just witnessed a coverup of and by top level law enforcement officials in our beloved city?

https://www.focusonv...r-cover-up-r13/

[rmpeers]

It continues to amaze me that thousands of voters, in the metoo era especially, were happy to vote for Helps after all this information was out there.

Yes, there was a certain amount of ignorance despite the details having been reported; and yes, as this article notes, the TC's "reporting" on this story seemed designed to protect the mayors and omit key facts. But I have to assume that a certain amount of people who cast a vote for Helps knew about this.

[spanky123]

^Seems to me like this may be an opportunity for even more leverage by Ben. Do as you are told (Lisa) or the 5 of us will vote for a public inquiry.

[David Bratzer]

One thing that does bother me is that the former Constable Frank Elsner is still an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. This is the highest award for police leadership in Canada.  He still has all of the privileges and benefits that come with membership in the OMPF. 

 

Hopefully he will be removed from the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.  This comment is my personal viewpoint and I don't intend for it to be taken in a punitive or cruel way.  The Order of Merit of the Police Forces is supposed to be a reflection of the very best of our police leadership in Canada.  That said, ultimately, the decision is up to the Governor General.

 

To my knowledge, only one person has been terminated from the OMPF in the past - a relatively low-ranking officer who was working in a small rural detachment.  If Elsner was removed from the OMPF, he would be the second.

[Bingo]

One thing that does bother me is that the former Constable Frank Elsner is still an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. 

This is the highest award for police leadership in Canada.  He still has all of the privileges and benefits that come with membership in the OMPF. 

 

That bothers me as a civilian and it must bother a lot of the officers that worked under Elsner, and those of are the people who need to make more of a stink about it.

[Rob Randall]

To my knowledge, only one person has been terminated from the OMPF in the past - a relatively low-ranking officer who was working in a small rural detachment.  If Elsner was removed from the OMPF, he would be the second.

 

And that guy's fault was being an obnoxious drunk. Elner's problems are far more complicated. In fact, we still don't know the specifics or context of the harrassment claims.

 

The Police Chiefs' Association is a powerful lobbying group and I doubt they are quick to throw their own members under the bus but Elsner clearly deserves banishment.

[Nparker]

The OPCC is not yet done with the Victoria Police Board

A special investigation into the actions of the Victoria Police Board is recommended after concerns were reported that the board allegedly used money from the police department’s budget to pay for a private media crisis consultant and continued funding of lawyers during the former Victoria Police Chief Const. Frank Elsner investigation, even after Elsner had been suspended with pay...

 

https://www.vicnews....a-police-chief/

 

[spanky123]

Sounds like the OPCC is done, but they have asked the Director of Police Services to investigate. That may or may not ever go anywhere.

[Nparker]

Sounds like the OPCC is done...

I only meant that they still had one more punch to deliver to the Victoria Police Board.

[rmpeers]

Clearly it's not a big deal for voters. Which is very sad. But Helps has a whole cult of personality thing going on and her flock couldn't care.

[Sparky]

Where have all the email's gone? Another in-depth piece by David Broadland. 

 

To quote Yogi Berra "It ain't over till it's over". 

 

https://www.focusonv...ted-emails-r15/

[spanky123]

Interesting. Thanks Sparky.

What I found most interesting was the carelessly redacted email from Desjardins. Noting gets through a sensitive FOI process without it hitting the Mayors desk first.

It looks like Desjardins may yet again have political ambitions beyond her current office and this is the start of her putting distance between her and Helps on the coverup issue.

[Mike K.]

The scant record that remains appears to have survived only because paper copies of a few emails gathered for a previous FOI request—made by an unknown entity—were kept by the Township of Esquimalt. All of Helps’ emails related to the first three months of the internal investigation have been deleted, even though it took place just over three years ago. All of her emails go through mailboxes hosted on City of Victoria servers and retention of the mayor’s email records is the responsibility of the City of Victoria.

 

If the mayor’s emails have been deleted, that means that in less time than the 4-year term of an elected City of Victoria mayor or counsellor, critical records of what they did while in office are being destroyed by the City. That’s what Thomson’s explanation implies.

 

If you are thinking, “Well, that doesn’t seem right,” you’re correct. The City of Victoria’s “Records Retention and Disposition Authority” for the Mayor’s Office requires that both electronic and paper records that are created to “document the operations of the mayor” must be “retained for 10 years overall, and then transferred to Archives for selective retention.” The Police Board has no written policy regarding “email retention schedules,” and, in any case, the emails were never in its physical control or custody. They were in the physical control and custody of the City of Victoria. Regardless, according to Thomson, those records are gone.

[spanky123]

The Mayor (or her staff) deleting her emails? Can't believe that it would happen given how "transparent" she is.