Defense attorney and independent candidate Naomi Sayers says she was cornered by a Salt police officer last month
The Civil Oversight Agency, which handles public complaints against Ontario police, has decided not to investigate allegations of misconduct against a Salt police officer.
In a complaint to the Office of the Independent Director of Police Inspection (OIPRD), local lawyer Naomi Sayers claims she was cornered and intimidated by a Sault Ste employee. Marie Police Department headquarters during an incident allegedly last month.
Sayers is running as an independent candidate at Sault Ste. Marie is running in the upcoming provincial election after the Ontario Liberals rejected her candidacy under the Liberal flag at the local level.
“OIPRD is aware of your concerns; however, the director has decided not to proceed with your complaint (s), as we have decided that it will not be in the public interest to do so, “OIPRD investigator John Bigerstaff said in a letter to Sayers. “The Police Services Act sets out criteria for examining public complaints and allows the OIPRD to decide which complaints to take and which not to investigate. Although we understand that you may have considered the employee’s actions inappropriate, a review of this complaint found that it did not meet the threshold for misconduct.
“Therefore, given all the circumstances, it is not in the public interest to investigate the complaint.
Asked by phone on Tuesday, Sayers told SooToday that she disagreed with the decision that the complaint did not meet the threshold for misconduct and that it was not in the public interest to investigate.
“I think they should at least have investigated it in the public interest,” she said.
Sayers tried to extract security camera footage from the Salt Police Department incident, but was informed that police cameras had not been recorded for the past eight months due to a cyber attack last August.
Police told SooToday earlier this month that security cameras had resumed the May 2 recording.
“Let them just say it wasn’t a recording, we’ve included it now – it’s also suspicious,” Sayers said.
Sayers has not decided whether to appeal the decision through judicial review in the Supreme Court.
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