Kennebecasis officer suspended with pay for 4 years now plans to retire

A senior officer with the Kennebecasis Regional Police Force, who has been suspended with pay for more than four years pending the outcome of a conduct complaint over allegedsexual harassment and other Police Act offences involving a female civilian employee he supervised, now plans to retire.

Insp. Jeff Porter was scheduled to face an arbitration hearing before the New Brunswick Police Commission in Fredericton on Monday.

But last Friday, Porter "formally indicated he will retire at the end of 2020," Chief Wayne Gallant confirmed in an email to CBC News.

"The arbitration process has been adjourned until December 31st."

The New Brunswick Police Commission only has the authority to discipline active police officers. Once an officer leaves the force, the provincial policing oversight body has no jurisdiction to investigate or impose sanctions,which can range from a verbal reprimand to dismissal.

Gallant did not provide an explanationfor the adjournment.

"I will not be offering any further comment on the matter," he said.

Jennifer Smith, the commission's executive director and CEO, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Porter, a 31-year veteran of the force, whichcovers Rothesay and Quispamsis, has been suspended with pay since June 2016, shortly after the female employee filed a written conduct complaint against him.

An inspector's annual salary ranges from about $104,000 to $115,000.

Municipal and regional forces in New Brunswick cannot suspend an officer without pay, unless the officer has beenconvicted of an offence under provincial or federal legislation.

An independent investigator hired by the commission found Portercommitted 81 breachesof various sections of the provincial Police Act, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority, corrupt practice and discreditable conduct.

Porter also committed five violations of internal policies, including workplace harassment, according to the investigator's report obtained by CBC News.

Porter was subsequently accused of three more offences related to alleged retaliationagainst the original complainant.

An independent investigator hired by the commission found heviolatedthree sections of the professional code of conduct, includingabuse of authority by harassment/intimidation, discreditable conduct while off duty, and insubordination.

None of the allegations have been proven and Porter has maintained they are false.

Earlier this year, Porter lost his bid for a judicial review of his case.He "failed to establish any exceptional circumstances that would justify judicial intervention before the administrative process has been completed,"Court of Queen's Bench Justice Terrence Morrison ruled.

"One could be forgiven for suspecting that this motion is a veiled attempt at delay," Morrison remarked.

He ordered Porter to pay $5,500 to the New Brunswick Police Commission for the "significant expense and delay" his application caused.

Porter was previously investigated by the New Brunswick RCMP for alleged intimidation, sexual harassment, obstruction and mischief involving the complainant.No criminal charges were laid.

Case dates back to February 2016

The Porter case dates back to February 2016, when the alleged victim confided in Const. Kelley McIntyre that she felt threatened and intimidated by Porter and wanted to quit.

McIntyre told another female officer, who told Steve Palmer, the deputy chief at the time, who took the information to then-chief Stephen McIntyre, of no relation to Kelley, and requested the allegations be investigated.

Four days later, the chief ordered an investigation not into Porter but into McIntyre, accusing her of "workplace harassment" for allegedly "poisoning the work environment" of Porter.

Kelley McIntyre subsequently filed a Police Act complaint against the chief.

An independent investigator found the chief committed 23 breaches of various sections of the police code of conduct by, among other things, failing "to ensure that the improper or unlawful conduct of Insp. Porter was not concealed."

None of the allegations were proven.

McIntyre, the chief, retired in the wake of the scathing report.