LPS chief to face disciplinary hearing in April
By Lethbridge Herald on March 28, 2025.
Herald file photo -
Lethbridge Police Service Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh speaks during a press conference last month at the Lethbridge police station.To ensure transparency, the Lethbridge Police Commission informed members of the media on Thursday, of an upcoming hearing that will address misconduct allegations against Lethbridge Police Service Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh next month.
As a result, LPS issued a statement to provide further context about the disciplinary hearing in relation to the appeal of a complaint made against the chief of police which states that the allegations were previously dismissed as frivolous and vexatious.
The statement reads in part, “In 2022, the former deputy chief sent a letter of complaint to the Minister of Justice alleging discreditable conduct against the chief. The matter was referred to the Lethbridge Police Commission and the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) was directed to investigate.”
According to the CanLII file on the matter, on Jan. 10, 2022, retired deputy chief Scott Woods sent a complaint letter to the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, where he made numerous allegations of discreditable conduct against Mehdizadeh.
The file mentions that in that letter, Woods indicated that he wished to be the complainant and that he was “not interested in any forms of informal resolution.”
It is also noted that despite stating his awareness of the complaint process under section 46 of the Act, which requires complaints against a chief of police to be referred to the applicable police commission, Woods sent the complaint letter directly to the minister, due to his allegation of corruption within the Lethbridge Police Commission and his concerns that the commission would not properly and ethically deal with the allegations.
After the matter was referred to EPS to investigate, the EPS investigation identified 16 allegations and determined 10 were either time-barred under the Police Act or the complainant did not have standing to make a complaint. The commission dismissed the remaining six allegations as frivolous and vexatious and lacking an evidentiary basis.
On July 11, 2023, the complainant appealed to the Law Enforcement Review Board (LERB).
On June 13, 2024, the LERB determined it did not have jurisdiction to consider the 10 allegations that were time-barred or without standing under the Police Act, upheld the dismissal of three of the allegations as frivolous and vexatious and directed the Lethbridge Police Commission to conduct a hearing on the remaining three allegations.
The remaining three allegations according the CanLII file are allegations 6, 7 and 8.
Allegation 6 states that, “The appellant alleged that on March 11, 2021, the chief violated a public health order relating to cohorts by taking a non-sworn member out for lunch. The appellant submitted that the chief violated a public health order during the COVID-19 pandemic and admitted to it and knew he was violating the order but tried to minimize it.”
Allegation 7 states that, “The appellant alleged that on March 15, 2021, when confronted by the appellant about violating public health orders, the chief denied that he had done anything wrong. The appellant submitted that the chief admitted to violating the public health order, and he intentionally decided “to change out of his uniform so he would not be recognizable as the mens rea of the violation”.”
And allegation 8 states that, “The appellant alleged that the chief brought discredit upon the service by having a press release about holding people accountable and ordering two Police Service Regulation investigations against LPS officers for violating public health orders, when he was not following the orders. The appellant submitted that the chief spoke at a press conference about complying with the public health orders in effect at the time.”
In their statement, LPS says that as this matter is in progress, no further information or comments will be provided in order to ensure the integrity of the process.
15-14
There has to be more important matters for our judicial system to address instead of this childish nonsense by a pissed off Deputy Chief. Glad he’s retired.