Demoted police officers return to active duty

Source:IFPRESS
Demoted police officers return to active duty
SARNIA: OPP costing question bigger concern for morale

By SHAWN JEFFORDS, QMI Agency

SARNIA -- The demotion of two Sarnia police officers will have little effect on morale, the chief of police says.

Phil Nelson said the service is turning the page on the "unsavory" incident now that the officers involved have been disciplined.

Constables Patrick Nahmabin and Steven Wyville pled guilty last week to disreputable conduct under the Police Service Act in relation to on Sept. 18, 2008 incident. The pair were arrested after breaking into a Christina Street home in search of Nahmabin's stolen badge.

"It's one thing out of the way we had to deal with," Nelson said. "As unfortunate or as unsavory as it may be, these are situations that have to be dealt with."

The officers are back on active duty but will undergo refresher training before re-joining the service in coming weeks.

Nelson said the ongoing OPP police costing question is a much larger concern for officer morale. The city is awaiting a report detailing how much it would cost for provincial police to replace the municipal force. The document will be released to a local police costing committee on March 29.

"That OPP report is impacting on people here more than anything else," Nelson said. "We're still waiting."

Mayor Mike Bradley, chairperson of the Sarnia Police Services Board, said the RCMP, OPP and municipal services across the country also deal with discipline issues on a regular basis.

Bradley said officers and civilian staff he's spoken to feel that seeking the OPP costing estimate is a slight against their work. Bradley said the costing is not just about dollars and cents, but should be about the work done by Sarnia police.

Sarnia Observer