Victoria policing faces 'crisis of integrity': ex-board member

Members of theSurrey Police Service and Delta Police Department will investigate a complaint filed by a former Victoria police board member in the wake of the collapse of the prosecution of a high-profile drug case.

The Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board announced the appointment Tuesday of the two external agencies to probe concerns related to the department's handling of Project Juliet an investigation into a fentanyl trafficking ring doomed by alleged misconduct of officers.

The complaint was filed by Paul Schachter who resigned from the police board in 2022 after a B.C. Supreme Court decision detailing alleged misconduct by officers that resulted in the staying of charges against three accused.

Schachter addressedthe board Tuesday before Surrey and Delta police were named as external investigators.

He claimedthat while the board's governance committee had agreed to an external investigation, they left it up to Victoria Police Chief Del Manak to oversee the process.

"The chief and not you will decide on the external investigator, what you get to see and when, and the contents of [the] final report," Schachter asked the board members.

"Do you find that acceptable? I wouldn't."

'The top of the fentanyl trafficking pyramid'

Details of Project Juliet's demiseemerged last month in a B.C. Supreme Court decision which said officers allegedly misled the courtabout the involvement of a disgraced colleague in the initial stages of the investigation.

In a story first reported by CBC News,Justice Catherine Murray's decision said officers"obscured" the fact former Const. Robb Ferris was part of thefirst iteration of the probe by filing a record of the case suggesting it began a month later than it actually did.

Those revelations led to the Crown staying charges against all three men accused in the case notwithstanding Manak's claim at the time of their arrests that they represented "the top of the fentanyl trafficking pyramid in British Columbia."

The Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner (OPCC) is investigating the actions of the now-retired officer who led Project Juliet when charges were brought.

In his resignation from the board, Schachterciteda lack of transparency about how operations are conducted to determine if the force is using its resources effectively.

Last month, he filed a complaint with the co-chairs of the police board.

Thecomplaintcites six specific areas of concern, including "a failure in general direction and management" and "inadequate or inappropriate" policies to prevent "obscuration of the existence of essential facts withrespect to records, reports and disclosures."

'Acrisis of integrity'

Police board co-chair and Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins told CBCearlier this month that Schachter's complaint has prompted an external probe.

But in his statement, Schachter said he was "surprised to be notified in writing that the governance committee delegated the investigation to Chief Constable Manak, and that Chief Manak purportedly will ask for an investigation by external agencies.

"Policing in Victoria is facing a crisis of integrity," Schachter told the board.

"I ask you pass a resolution ... to take charge of this complaint and have an independent external investigation report directly to you, and not to management of the department under investigation."

External agencies investigating, board member says

Immediately following Schachter's remarks Tuesday night, the board received a report from its governance committee chairPaul Faoro, who said it had taken Schachter'sconcerns "very seriously."

He said the complaints had been forwarded to the governance committee for review, which he described as an"established practice" in place for more than 15 years.

Faoroalso said the committee hasengaged "external agencies" to aid in reviewing Schachter's complaints, but did not indicate who they were, adding, "That's about all I can say at the moment."

"Time is going to be needed," he said of the investigations underway."But I am confident that those investigations will be looked at thoroughly and we'll be able to positively resolve this policy complaint."