Demotion of VicPD officer who leaked documents to media will be reviewed: OPCC

A Victoria Police Department crest is shown in this undated photo. (File Photo)

The decision to demote a member of the Victoria Police Department who allegedly provided confidential reports to the media will be reviewed, according to B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.

The watchdog announced the review Friday, saying it came after the officer – Sgt. Peter Gill, now retired – challenged the findings of a misconduct investigation that found he had committed neglect of duty by providing “unredacted” documents to a journalist.

Officers who face dismissal or demotion are automatically entitled to a review either by a retired judge or via a public hearing, according to the OPCC, which is the agency that oversees misconduct cases involving municipal officers.

VicPD contacted the OPCC in March of 2023 after a reporter told the department they had copies of the final report into a historical misconduct investigation.

“The VicPD reported that the information contained in the (final investigation report) included private, non-disclosable information including the identities of four members, third parties, and a vulnerable affected person. The (report) also reportedly contained serious allegations against the members, some of which were not substantiated by the discipline authority,” the announcement of the review says.

The findings of individual misconduct investigations are not released or published by the OPCC. The office publishes an annual report highlighting some cases, but officers are not named. Typically, the OPCC can’t and won’t confirm if a complaint has been received or if an investigation is underway.

An investigation into the matter was ordered, with the OPCC finding that what the VicPD member was alleged to have done could have amounted to “neglecting, without good or sufficient cause, to promptly and diligently do anything that it is one’s duty as a member to do, in relation to releasing confidential information.”

The investigation was conducted by the VicPD. Six months into the investigation, the OPCC was informed that Gill was the member in question and the complaint was amended to name him. Gill was also alleged to have provided a second confidential report to the media.

Two months later, Gill retired.

In May of 2024, Insp. Colin Brown, with VicPD’s professional standards section, found the allegation of neglect of duty was substantiated and proposed a demotion from sergeant to constable as a penalty.

Gill requested the matter be reviewed in June of 2024, saying, in part, “this matter ought to have been referred to an external party and that the discipline authority had exhibited bias and discrimination,” according to the OPCC. Gill also said the investigation should have been delayed due to his health issues and that the discipline imposed was disproportionate.

The OPCC opted for a review on the record, a process in which a retired judge is appointed to reevaluate the investigation and its findings. A public hearing in which witnesses can be called and cross-examined was not necessary in this case, the watchdog found.

Gill has, according to the OPCC, not submitted evidence “responding to his alleged misconduct” and he has not denied the allegations.

The OPCC’s notice of the review does not provide any information about who in the media the confidential reports were provided to or how they were used.