Police officer’s gossip leads to firing of RTC employee

An officer from the Quebec City Police Service (SPVQ) whose chatter caused a worker from the Capital Transport Network (RTC) to lose his job is sanctioned for breaching his oath of secrecy.

In a decision rendered on October 15, the Administrative Tribunal for Police Ethics imposed a three-day suspension without pay on agent Maxime Kremer-Gauthier, the most severe sanction for this type of ethical misconduct.

The events on which the Court ruled date back to January 7, 2020. That day, the police officer SPVQ is called to go to the borough of Beauport, in Quebec, following a road accident.

Inspector of RTC

Even if no bus from RTC was involved, an inspector from the transport company, Jean Pelletier, also went to the site to ensure that buses could continue to circulate as normally as possible in the area.

At a certain point, agent Kremer-Gauthier goes to meet Mr. Pelletier. Without identifying himself, the police officer asks the inspector if he knows someone named Patrick Moreau who, according to his information, works at the RTC.

The officer informs the inspector that Mr. Moreau has been arrested several times for driving a motor vehicle while his driver’s license was suspended.

Based on the information provided by the police officer, Jean Pelletier consults the register of bus drivers of the RTC. He notices that the name of Patrick Moreau does not appear there.

The inspector then decides to call a fellow foreman, who reveals to him that Patrick Moreau works in maintenance. She adds that the employee recently had to drive a bus as part of his duties.

Investigation

Over the following days, authorities RTCmade aware of the situation, summoned Patrick Moreau to a meeting. On February 5, 2020, following an internal investigation, the employee was fired.

The Administrative Tribunal for Police Ethics considers that Maxime Kremer-Gauthier is responsible for this dismissal. He accuses him of having violated his oath of secrecy by disclosing information obtained in the course of his work to a third party.

The officer thus contravened the Code of Ethics of Quebec Police Officers, more particularly its article 7, which requires police officers to respect the authority of the law and the courts.

While the police officer’s mission is to enforce the law, he is expected to set an example and, thus, strive to respect it. When he violates this principle, he tarnishes the image of the police function and undermines public confidence in it. we can read in the Court’s decision.

Consequences important

He also concludes that agent Kremer-Gauthier violated the private life of Patrick Moreau, thereby contributing to undermine the authority of the law in more than one respect.

In addition, his misconduct created a “victim” who suffered significant consequences, namely the loss of his job, which is part of the contextual seriousness of the fault and must be considered in determining the sanction.notes the Court.

While recognizing that Mr. Moreau is partly responsible for his dismissal for having failed to inform his employer that his driving license had been suspended, the Court considers that this fact is not likely to influence the sanction to be imposed on the policeman.

It was not up to Agent Kremer-Gauthier to interfere in the employer-employee relationship. Because of his intervention, he precipitated things and brought about the consequences that we know about which otherwise might not have occurred. Still, it is because of the indiscretion of agent Kremer-Gauthier that Mr. Moreau was fired.underlines the Court.

Defense dismissed

He does not accept the excuse presented by the police officer to justify his behavior, namely that he acted to prevent the commission of a crime. The judgment specifies in this regard that the dismissed employee’s driving license was suspended for non-payment of the fees due upon its renewal, and not following an infraction of the Highway Safety Code.

Tired of seeing Mr. Moreau continue to drive despite the suspension of his driving license, Officer Kremer-Gauthier decided to try to put an end to this less serious offense by stopping Mr. Pelletier, in order to teach Mr. Moreau a lesson , knowing very well that the information revealed would not stop thereaffirms the Court.

According to him, the seriousness of the fault committed by the police officer as well as the bad faith which he demonstrated by using an indirect means to encourage Patrick Moreau to comply with the law call for an exemplary sanction.

The lack of experience of Maxime Kremer-Gauthier at the time of the facts, his clean record in matters of ethical misconduct and the absence of a spirit of revenge however, constitute mitigating elements to be taken into consideration in determining the sanction.

The Court therefore imposes on the agent of SPVQ a suspension without pay of three working days of eight hours for having breached his duty of discretion.