Roger-Luc Chayer
A few years ago, I spoke to you in these pages about the Police Ethics Commissioner of Quebec, but with the proliferation of communications on social networks and the confusion generated by notices coming from everywhere, it seemed very important to me to ‘come back to it. More and more, police officers are called upon to intervene which sometimes go beyond their competence. For example, during the pandemic, they often had to intervene in matters of mental health and despite the good faith of most officers, some can make mistakes.
Thus, following the recent arrest of a young person and the application of the knee to the neck of the person lying on the ground, images circulated and thousands of comments were made including this one: » He should lodge a complaint with the police ethics, he will be able to have an arrangement with the police officer who will be forced to respect it! « . Although the intention was good, the person was giving very bad advice. Here’s why… According to the Commissioner’s web page: “The Police Ethics Commissioner receives and examines complaints made against police officers, etc. The Commissioner has a decisive mission within the police ethics system. Indeed, at the end of the assistance given to citizens to formulate their complaints, the preliminary examination of complaints, the conciliation of the parties, etc. «
The problem with conciliation is that any police officer who enters into an agreement to settle a complaint, under the supervision of the Commissioner and whose agreement is also ratified by the same Commissioner, is absolutely not bound to respect it, and This is not told to anyone, neither when meeting with the Commissioner, nor when signing the agreement. Any settlement agreement of the Commissioner is secret AND CANNOT BE INVITED IN OTHER COURTS IF THE POLICE DOESN’T RESPECT IT.
Unfortunately, some police officers are using this little secret to sign settlement agreements or settlements with plaintiffs, with remedial clauses they do not even intend to honor. This is what happened in a case dating back a few years when a police officer agreed in writing to come to the Montreal Municipal Court to say that he should not have issued the ticket to the complainant. When it was time to speak, he simply told the Judge that he had nothing to say. The plaintiff then took out the signed agreement, and the judge refused to read it, saying the document was secret and could not be relied on. The plaintiff then sued the police officer in Small Claims Court for violating the agreement, and the judge also reiterated that he could not hear the case since the agreement was secret.
Obviously, recommending that the Ethics Commissioner sign a settlement agreement is very bad advice, because nothing will force the officer to abide by it. Those who still wish to do so can initiate the procedures from the Commissioner’s website at https://deontologie-policiere.gouv.qc.ca/commisseur.html