Justice minister sets deadline for Lethbridge Police Service action plan
By Herald on March 24, 2021.
Lethbridge Police Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh speaks during a news conference in Lethbridge, Alta., on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, to acknowledge matters being investigated in relation to officers doing unauthorized computer searches on local MLA Shannon Phillips. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David RossiterTim Kalinowski
Lethbridge Herald
tkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com
The CBC is reporting that Justice Minister Kaycee Madu has given the Lethbridge Police Service three weeks to produce a plan of how it intends to deal with its ongoing issues, or he will step in to dissolve the police force under the province’s extraordinary powers.
According to the CBC, Madu imposed the deadline in a letter sent out on Tuesday to Lethbridge Chief of Police Shahin Mehdizadeh, Mayor Chris Spearman and Police Commission Chair Robert van Spronsen in light of recent allegations involving the police force regarding MLA Shannon Phillips and other allegations around the suspension of five additional officers earlier this month.
An excerpt from Madu’s letter reportedly obtained by the CBC gives the LPS until April 16 to submit its plan, and goes on to state:
“Should I not see a plan for addressing the acknowledged issues, or should I not see evidence of progress in relation to acting upon that plan, I will be in a position of having to truly consider utilizing the extraordinary authorities available to me under section 30 of the Police Act,” writes Madu.
In response to local media inquiries regarding the CBC report, the Lethbridge Police Service sent out a statement Wednesday afternoon confirming the April 16 deadline.
“The Minister wanted some assurance that the LPS was moving to address the root cause of these issues and to restore the public trust of our community,” it reads in part. “The Service is able to offer such assurance, as we have been developing an action plan over the past several months to address the problems raised by these troubling past cases. In fact, while the Minister had set a deadline of April 16 to receive such a report from us, we expect to provide it much earlier. As soon as it is reviewed and approved by the Lethbridge Police Commission, we will be sending it to the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General.”
The LPS says the plan will be comprehensive.
“The action plan will contain a number of measures, and set an identifiable timeframe for delivery, but an underlying common theme will be to ensure consistent accountability and a consistently high standard of integrity in our service delivery,” the statement reads. “Further details of this plan can be released at appropriate times in the future.
“We are confident that the Service is on the right path to correcting past behaviours and restoring public trust,” it goes on to state. “We are committed to demonstrating our dedication to these goals in the months and years ahead.”
The Herald also sought comment from Mayor Chris Spearman on this report.
“I can confirm that I received a letter yesterday from Minister Madu outlining his expectations for the Lethbridge Police Service in the coming weeks,” says Spearman in a statement released to the media on Wednesday. “I am confident that Chief Mehdizadeh and the Lethbridge Police Commission understand the importance of this task and are making it their number one priority.
“We know there is important and critical work to be done within LPS and a plan is being developed to address that. Lethbridge residents should continue to feel confident in the Police Service that is here to protect them. We know there are many, many hard working and dedicated LPS staff who go to work every day committed to the safety and well-being of our community.”
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The fact that officers were able to both Breach the public trust and remain employed ……. Well all I can say is , IT’S ABOUT TIME !!
If there is just a few bad players, let’s see some action and fire these officers. Public trust and respect for the police is absolutely necessary. Right now for the first time in my life I have neither. Respect and trust must be earned again. Should I be looking over my shoulder?
The chief says they have been working on a plan for months. Now, Madu sets an ultimatum. Is this just Madu getting in front of the parade? Or is it a Stampede Wrestling-like choreographed confrontation?
Nonetheless, time to take the hillbilly out of our police force.
It’s a mess but don’t forget.. in 2020, both the Chief and the Commission Chair resigned… we can’t blame the two new folks in these positions, yet!
I do acknowledge that the Lethbridge City Police force has had serious missteps over the years, but, is anyone wondering here, whether this threatened action by the Kenney UCP Minister of Justice Kaycee Madhu is part and parcel of a precursor to promoting/implementing a provincial police force? The cost of implementing a provincial police force in Alberta would be in the $multibillions. Perhaps the Kenney UCP would have to change the law on having a referendum on whether we should have a PST and actually implement one to be able top afford a provincial police force, let alone not making cuts to education and health care and thinking open-pit coal mining is a financial savior for Alberta.