Chief will discipline police if warranted

Source: The SpecMay 12, 2010
Nicole O'Reilly

Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire said he has not launched an internal investigation in to what happened the night Po La Hay was mistakenly arrested because it could compromise any assessment by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director.

But he is prepared to take disciplinary measure if warranted upon the recommendation of the OIPRD — a recently created civilian agency responsible for overseeing and dealing with all public complaints against police in Ontario.

And he said that he has already asked another department to investigate if the agency takes no action.

Speaking at a press conference this morning, he said he has not spoken with nor would it be inappropriate to speak with the officers involved in the incident last Tuesday that left the 58-year-old Karen refugee bruised and bleeding.

These officers have not been identified.

The complaint laid in the Hay’s case came from the public and the chief would not say how long after the incident he learned about the complaint to OIPRD. It could take more than three months before the OIPRD determines if an investigation under the Police Services Act is warranted.

At the press conference De Caire repeated the efforts the police have made to reach out to Hay, the Karen community and immigrant and refugee representatives since the incident.

Statement by Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire

Today, I would like to provide a summary of the activity that has taken place related to the incident that resulted in the injuries to Mr. Po La Hay.

You are already aware that officers completed a search warrant entry and that entry turned out to be into the wrong apartment of an address here in Hamilton.

I am unable to address the issue of what took place within the apartment at this time as this is the subject of investigation and when that investigation is complete, I will be in a position to report on the findings.

On the night of the incident, realizing Mr. Hay was injured, Hamilton Police contacted the ambulance and provided assistance to Mr. Hay which included escorting him to hospital, transporting his family to be with him and arranging for interpreter services. Police remained with him until his discharge and safely transported him home.

Shortly after the incident, I directed members of the Service to attend the family residence and to set up a meeting with Mr. Hay, his family and myself. We were respectful of his desire to utilize members of the local church to assist in setting that meeting up. We were also respectful of his request that he not meet with me but that we meet with his two adult children. At the request of the family, this meeting took place here at Central. I did meet with the community representatives from the church and the two adult children of Mr. Hay and an interpreter.

I offered my apology and a commitment to meet with Mr. Hay, at a time and place, where he was comfortable. My commitment to meet with him in person and to apologize directly has never changed however the meeting has not taken place, again respecting his wishes.

I further met with the community last Thursday night and the media on Friday morning. I have spoken to the family, community representatives, and the media.

Hamilton Police Victim Services was notified and has been providing ongoing support and working with the family and the Karen Community.

At the same time, I directed our investigative staff to commence securing all related reports and evidence, knowing that this case must be investigated and that evidence preserved.

The level of injury that would require a notification of the Provincial Special Investigations Unit was not met and the Service did speak with the SIU and advised them of the known medical information. The SIU has not invoked its mandate.

The Service is aware of the need to investigate this matter, review and report the findings and to take corrective actions, which may include discipline, to ensure that we do not have this happen again.

I am informed that a complaint has been filed with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director which gives primacy in the investigation to that office. We will respect that process. We are awaiting notification of the Director’s position related to the investigation.

I am also aware and support the need for an independent review of this matter. In the event that the Independent Review Director does not decide, after initial review, to maintain carriage of this and investigate, I have already made arrangements to initiate an investigation by another police service.

We have received notification that Mr. Hay is represented by counsel and that notice requires us to deal with counsel in any and all discussions related to the case. We have been in contact with Mr. Hay’s lawyer and we will continue to respect his wishes to communicate through counsel.
I am very mindful of the impact this has had on the wider Karen and other community members and will ensure immediate and ongoing work to repair and foster healthy bridge-building between the police and the Karen and wider community.

We realize this will take time. We are committed to this work which we began in 2008 shortly after the first arrival of Karen community members in our city. We held four separate sessions with the Karen community in that year providing basic awareness information relating to police in Canada.

We continued in 2009 and have already held one session in conjunction with SISO in 2010.

We will continue this critical and necessary dialogue towards enhancing trust and fostering healthy relations.