A former Calgary police officer who was fired from the force over sexual misconduct is appealing his dismissal that came after a disciplinary hearing’s decision earlier this year. Mike Oakey lost his job in January after the Calgary Police Commission said he made inappropriate sexual advances toward a woman, whose name is protected by a publication ban. The victim, A.A., was applying to become a Calgary police officer and the hearing found Oakey broke the rules when he said she owed him sex in exchange for his help. Oakey’s lawyer, Cory Wilson, said his client one time said, “I helped you; it’s the least you could do,” after she denied his sexual advances. During the Tuesday hearing, he said Oakey did not mean what he said, calling it “a single, heat-of-the-moment utterance,” and the decision to convict him was unreasonable. He also brought into question the victim’s credibility. “A.A. was a proven liar. She lied on her application form. She fabricated a ride-along,” Wilson said. “When she was caught in a lie, she would make more lies.” Wilson added that despite accepting all of Oakey’s evidence, the presiding officer simply stated she didn’t believe him and “relied on non-existent evidence” in coming to her decision. He said the “why” is missing from the presiding officer’s decision. “Why did the presiding officer find that A.A. was credible and Oakey wasn’t to be believed?” Wilson said the conviction was based on “a gut feeling” of the presiding officer. Michael Mysak, counsel for the Calgary Police Service, said Oakey’s appeal is “without merit.” “It ignores the amount of analysis that was required,” he said. “Almost all of the facts related to that charge (of discreditable conduct) are not contested.” Mysak said it was not contested that A.A. was seeking employment with the CPS or that they had a sexual relationship. The only part that was contested was whether their relationship was connected to the application. “The presiding officer doesn’t need to go through every point and submission,” Mysak said. “The charge is he did something to discredit the service.” Mysak says that while the defence stated A.A. was a liar, that played little role in what happened. He argued that Oakey was not a credible witness, despite what Wilson said. The matter was adjourned to Sept. 30. Previous disciplinary action Oakey was previously demoted in rank for one year for sharing a video of A.A. having sex with him and intimate images of her with fellow officers without her consent. In the presiding officer’s decision at the time, she acknowledged the video was filmed without A.A.’s knowledge. “He used his position, his authority and my dream as weapons,” A.A. said during a victim impact statement in January. “What Oakey did did not just hurt me. It dismantled my sense of safety, my identity and my future.” Also at the January hearing, Oakey was cleared of two other misconduct allegations, including applying force to a civilian without their consent and the accusation he touched her sexually without her consent while in a police vehicle. With files from Stephanie Thomas, Teri Fikowski and Alesia Fieldberg
