Former deputy police chief appeals 'Memegate' sanctions, says officers should have been dismissed
Scott Woods, former deputy and interim police chief, says sanctions for the Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) "Memegate" scandal should have been more severe and the officers should have been dismissed.
Woods appealed the punishments handed down on Wednesday.
In 2018, Edmonton police began investigating five Lethbridge officers accused of being part of the 'Meme Milita'.
The officers involved created and circulated profane, abusive and insulting memes of their superiors, including Woods, and various community members using work cellphones while on the job.
After a professional-conduct hearing in 2021, five officers were charged with misconduct.
Two of the officers, Matthew Rilkoff and David Easter, pleaded guilty to four counts including insubordination and neglect of duty.
The officers were demoted by two grades, resulting in a $15,000 salary decrease.
In his appeal submission, Woods says records would show the officers actually made money through time owed and paid vacation.
He also said the case law is outdated and facts were left out of the sentencing report.
The officers' representative disputes calls for their dismissal and says the appeal itself should be dismissed.
LPS counsel, representing the chief, agreed, saying the prior sanctions were more than enough for the two officers.
Two other officers resigned before their disciplinary hearings. Another was dismissed.
All of the memes have been sealed to prevent re-victimizing the subjects of the texts.
The Law Enforcement Review Board will take all submissions into account and will return with a decision within the next 60 days.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
BREAKING Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.