Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs will provide a public update next month on how the service is addressing “gender-based misconduct, sexual violence, and related workplace and organizational issues,” and outline the steps being taken to strengthen workplace culture and public trust, according to the board. The Ottawa Police Services Board held a special in-camera meeting with Stubbs and members of the senior executive on Wednesday. In a statement, the board said the meeting was to discuss “the seriousness of recent reports involving gender-based misconduct, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and harm connected to members of the Ottawa Police Service.” “The Board made it clear that sexual harassment, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and gender-based misconduct are unacceptable and have profound impacts on survivors, workplaces, and communities,” the board said. In April, an Ottawa Police Service officer was charged with assault and criminal harassment in connection to an intimate partner violence investigation. A constable was demoted for 18 months after using the police and Ministry of Transportation databases dozens of times to search for information on his ex-partners and other members of the public. The board said Chief Stubbs will provide an update on how the service is addressing officer misconduct and related workplace and organizational issues at the board’s meeting on June 22. The update will include steps the service is taking to “strengthen prevention, reporting, accountability, member support, workplace culture and public trust.” “The recent reports of misconduct are distinct matters that must proceed through their own established accountability processes,” the board said. “Depending on the circumstances, those processes may include independent criminal investigations, statutory oversight bodies, or internal workplace and professional conduct mechanisms. The Board does not direct or interfere in individual cases; our role is to ensure strong, trauma-informed systems, clear expectations, and effective oversight are in place and working as intended.”
