Non-confidence vote engineered by noisy malcontents, RNC chief says

The chief of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is pledging to stand firm in the face of what he calls an attempt to discredithis leadership.

After a former officer leaked the results of a non-confidence vote on his leadership, Joe Boland issued a press release Friday afternoon that described the vote as a "transparent and fundamentally misguided attempt at intimidation and coercion."

"This vote has been promoted by a few individuals who wish to avoid accountability, andby some other officers who oppose the progressive and necessary changes I have made to date within the RNC," his statement reads.

Retired officer Tim Buckle, who left the force under a cloud of controversy related to a "heads-up" phone call to a fellow officer who was under investigation,tweeted Friday that 90 per cent of the officers who took part in the vote expressed a lack of confidence in the chief.

Buckle said 76 per cent of officers cast ballots.

Buckle and Boland, both of whom once led the RNC Association, have a long history of friction, and Buckle often takes jabs at his former boss on social media.

"Multiple respectful workplace complaints, no confidence of the frontline workers he leads. [Boland] failed to hold himself to the high standard he set for everybody else," Buckle tweeted Friday.

• RNC Chief Joe Boland subject of non-confidence vote by officers

The RNC Association has refused all interview requests about the non-confidence vote, which was launched early last month.

On Friday, the association would not confirm whether Buckle's information was accurate, but issueda statement that said it is discussing the matter with the Department of Justice and Public Safety.

"As such, we will not be making any comment on this matter at this time," reads the statement.

In his statement, Bolandseemed to suggested the rebellion is being led by officers who do not want to be held accountable when they abuse their authority.

"When I was appointed chief, my clear message to all officers and the public was that I would fully support members who work in good faith to support the health and safety of our community. I also made it known to those few officers who abuse their authority that they will be held accountable," he wrote.

Boland accused the RNCAexecutive of seeking to "engineer a scheme" to encourage officers to take part in the vote.

'This vote deflects the narrative away from the proper accountability of a small but noisy minority of members. It is also an attempt to dismantle the clear accountability of the RNCA executive by implying that my style of management is the larger, if not the only issue."

Boland said he expects the RNCA to fight for due process when one of its members is investigated for wrongdoing but said he will resist any efforts by the association to"intimidate and coerce me from properly fulfilling my mandate out of fear of being demonized or criticized publicly for doing what the law mandates me to do as the chief of police."

The chiefmade it clear he does not plan to step down, noting, "I will continue to fulfil my obligations "

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