Officer reprimanded for role in surveillance scandal involving former MLA Shannon Phillips

Alberta MLA Shannon Phillips speaks at an announcement of proposed new legislation to protect Alberta's mountains and watershed from coal mining in Calgary, Alta., Monday, March 15, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A Lethbridge police officer involved in a scandal involving former Lethbridge New Democrat MLA Shannon Phillips has been reprimanded.

The Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) said Monday an internal investigation into the officer's actions found they were "unauthorized."

The incident explored in the internal investigation was the accessing of Phillips' information via a police database back in 2017.

Phillips, who was then the environment minister, was discussing a proposed new park with a constituent in a coffee shop and was overheard by Lethbridge officer Keon Woronuk. Woronuk, a local all-terrain-vehicle user, was concerned that what he heard might have an impact on his hobby.

Woronuk subsequently posted photos of the meeting on a Facebook page under the name "Mike Corps," which included identifying the stakeholders and a long caption criticizing Phillips and the NDP government.

That prompted Phillips to complain to Calgary police, who found Woronuk had conducted an unauthorized database search. Calgary police then passed the investigation on to Medicine Hat police.

Woronuk was later convicted of five counts of violating the Police Act. They included wrongly subjecting Phillips to a police database search, singling her and others out for traffic enforcement, misleading supervisors and using his position as an officer for political reasons. 

The other officer, Jason Carrier, also an off-road enthusiast, was convicted on two counts under the Police Act — being an accessory to Woronuk's offences and failing to report them. 

In 2020, both Lethbridge officers received temporary demotions. Woronuk was demoted for two years and Carrier for one year.

Phillips appealed the sentences, but they were upheld. She has also filed a lawsuit against the Lethbridge Police Service. 

One of the officers has since left the police force.

ASIRT investigation

Alberta's police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), launched an investigation into the incident.

In it, ASIRT exonerated a civilian officer and three officers named by Phillips in her complaint, but noted there were reasonable grounds to believe that two officers – one who is no longer employed by LPS – may have committed criminal offences by accessing the data.

ASIRT forwarded the matter to the Crown, which determined the test for prosecution was not met and the individuals would not be criminally charged.

Internal investigation

LPS says following the conclusion of the ASIRT investigation, the police service then launched an internal investigation.

The internal investigation determined the officer still employed by LPS had seen posts on social media involving the former MLA and "accessed a file containing her information to determine if there had been any misconduct by LPS personnel related to the posts."

"After finding no evidence to connect any employees to the posts, there was no further action taken by the officer," said LPS in a Monday news release.

LPS says the reasons for the search do not excuse or justify the conduct, and the officer’s actions were unauthorized.

As such, Chief of Police Shahin Mehdizadeh found the officer guilty of discreditable conduct and insubordination.

Though LPS didn't identify the officer, The Lethbridge Police Association (LPA) has said it was Const. Joel Odorski.

He was sanctioned by way of a reprimand, which will remain on his record of discipline for three years.

"The chief’s decision was based on evidence gathered by the professional standards unit, including a statement by the officer. This information was not available to ASIRT or considered in their findings, as the officer was not required to provide a statement to ASIRT investigators and chose to exercise that right," said LPS in a release.

"With the exception of a civil suit that remains before the court, the complaints by former MLA Phillips against the LPS are now concluded," said police.

Police association response

The Lethbridge Police Association (LPA) has responded to the conclusion of the internal investigation, saying that while multiple people working at LPS were accused of wrongdoing, most were exonerated early by ASIRT.

"Over the seven years that this entire process took to draw to a fair conclusion, there have been inaccurate accounts, broad accusations and unfair speculations aimed at the men and women of the Lethbridge Police Service," the statement reads. "Reports of 'illegal searches' were premature, unfair and based on allegations alone."

"Multiple people within LPS were deemed to have legitimately accessed Phillips’ information as a requirement of their police-related duties.

"The one police officer who was recently sanctioned was (Const.) Joel Odorski. His punishment was exclusively for accessing police databases incorrectly. (Const.) Odorski was never accused or investigated for any of the separate instances of 'surveillance' or other misconduct of any kind and his was an isolated instance.

"It is the fall of 2024 now, and the concerns Ms. Phillips had about the actions of these former members are behind us."

- With files from The Canadian Press