Police chief cleared of disciplinary charges
By Lethbridge Herald on June 17, 2025.
Lethbridge Herald
The Lethbridge Police Commission has announced the conclusion of a disciplinary hearing concerning Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh, following allegations of discreditable conduct under the Police Service Regulation.
The hearing conducted on April 17, stemmed from a 2022 complaint by former Deputy Chief Scott Woods, alleging Mehdizadeh violated a public health order relating to cohorts during the Covid-19 pandemic by taking a civilian member out for lunch and denying culpability when he was confronted.
After reviewing all evidence and testimony, Presiding Officer Commissioner Brett Carlson found that “none of the allegations had been proven on a balance of probabilities.” And as a result, Mehdizadeh was found to be not guilty, and no disciplinary sanctions were imposed.
On April 17, an agreed statement of facts was provided outlining how Mehdizadeh took the LPS Chaplain Aaron Moore to Umami on Mar. 11, 2021, for a bowl of soup. They were masked and properly socially distanced throughout the less than 30-minute meeting.
Several days after the lunch, Woods confronted Mehdizadeh about violating a public health order. At the time, Mehdizadeh believed Moore was considered part of his cohort given his frequent presence at the station. When another senior officer confirmed he had violated the order, Mehdizadeh immediately apologized and affirmed it would not happen again.
The decision emphasized that Mehdizadeh’s actions, while involving an unintended breach of public health orders, did not rise to the level of misconduct warranting disciplinary sanction.
“A moment of carelessness or error in judgment does not, by itself, constitute discreditable conduct requiring discipline,” said Carlson.
“The chief acknowledged his mistake, apologized to his executive officers, and promised not to do it again. There is no allegation that such a repetition ever occurred. There was no evidence of malicious intent or meaningful moral culpability in the Chief’s actions.”
In a statement, Chief Mehdizadeh shared that throughout these proceedings he have received overwhelming support from the members of LPS and the community and he is both humbled and grateful.
“After a comprehensive and transparent process, including a public hearing, the complaints against me by my former Deputy Chief, were dismissed,” said Mehdizadeh.
He explained that since leaving LPS in 2022, after a short period of time working together, the former Deputy Chief has made numerous allegations and complaints against me.
“None have been substantiated, and several have been dismissed outright as frivolous and vexatious,” said Mehdizadeh. “Today’s decision closes this chapter, and I am focused on moving forward and continuing to work to strengthen and support our community.”
14-13
Woods appears to be a vindictive individual with some sort of issue against the chief. LPS does not need a petty person like this on the force and I’m glad he moved on to harass someone else.
The Chief and I do not see eye to eye on some of the issues, and that is normal, but these charges were uncalled for.
Chief Mehdizadeh came to our city with full knowledge of the issues in our LPS which would take significant effort to resolve, due to lack of a dedicated Chief of Police for several years . . . Woods was the cause of some of those issues, since he was senior leadership, and it was childish to attack a man who I have the highest respect for as do many in this city, including LPS members!
The Chief had quite the mess here to deal with, and he came knowing that it would be a tough job . . . yet he came! He has always accepted my criticism on issues and still come up and shook my hand! When there are important issues, you will never agree 100% . . . never!
I am pleased with the outcome of this shameful attack on our Chief!