Suspended police officers cost Hamilton-area taxpayers $14.8M since 2013

Suspended police officers have cost taxpayers in Hamilton, Halton, Niagara and Brantford roughly $14.8 million over the past 11 years, according to an exclusive database compiled by CBC News that surveyed reports about hundreds of officers who were sent home with pay after being accused of misconduct or breaking the law.

The investigation collected publicly available information about officers across 44 police departments, including Hamilton, Halton, Niagara and Brantford.

The research reveals 453 suspensions across Ontario for a wide variety of allegations including drunk driving, fraud, drug trafficking, manslaughter, sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

These cases represent less than two per cent of the approximately 25,140 officers currently on duty in 61 communities.

Several police services provided CBC with their total number of suspensions since 2013. Some of those totals were far greater than what CBC found through public reporting. By contrast, this investigation uncovered more suspension cases in Hamilton than what police services reported to CBC.

Since 2013, there have been 26 Hamilton Police Service officers suspended, 15 Niagara Regional Police Service officers suspended, six Halton Regional Police officers suspended and one Brantford Police Service officer suspended. There were no suspensions among Niagara Parks Police Service officers.

That’s 48 officers, costing the public $14,808,400.

It’s unclear what disciplinary action was taken for roughly a third of the 48 suspended officers, but the analysis shows four were demoted, two were docked pay, two were fired and two were forced to resign.

There were also nine officers who resigned before their hearings and three who retired before their hearings.

How long officers were suspended for, on average, varied by service. In Hamilton, it was 812 days — roughly two years and two months.

Other highlights include:

• Fifteen officers including ten in Hamilton, three in Niagara, one in Halton and one in Brantford faced intimate partner violence allegations.
• As of April 9, there are nine local officers suspended — five in Hamilton, two in Niagara and one in Halton — costing the public roughly $400,000.

Some officers to face unpaid suspension under new rules

Police services have long faced criticism for the costs associated with suspensions but also for a lack of transparency.

Last year, privacy experts, police researchers and a former police sergeant told CBC Hamilton the public should be able to get more information in Ontario, the only province or territory in Canada where, until recently, suspended police officers would get paid.

New legislation was brought in on April 1, called the Community Safety and Policing Act (CSPA), which will allow for unpaid suspensions in some cases.

It only applies to accusations of a serious, indictable offence committed while the officer was off duty, such as murder or aggravated sexual assault. And every decision to suspend an officer without pay would first go before an adjudicator.

Hamilton police board’s acting chair Fred Bennink said in an email the board has heard public concerns about the cost of paying the salaries and benefits of officers on paid leave.

He said the new act is a “positive move forward” because it will allow police to reduce costs related to suspensions, as well as improve transparency and accountability.

Jaimi Bannon, president of the Hamilton Police Association, said if the service isn’t trying to fire a police officer, they shouldn’t be suspended.

“The member should remain at work, perhaps on administrative duties, where they can continue to provide valuable contributions to the police service and the community while their cases are processed,” she said.

Rafael Gomez, director at University of Toronto’s Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, said he thinks it’s “unfair” that some officers may end up suspended without pay.

“A worker is a worker … we’re all entitled to due process,” he said.

“There’s a logic that protects the employer and goes the other way too.”

Gomez said paid suspensions are common in most other lines of work, especially in unionized environments, and said a paid suspension is generally part of a due process.

He said due process benefits the employee but also the employer.

For example, an employer has ways to get the money it paid a suspended employee back if the employee was found to get something wrong.

But if an employee on an unpaid suspension is cleared of wrongdoing, the employer would have to pay the worker what they’re owed and pay for the value of the money lost — which means an unpaid suspension can “come back to bite” employers, Gomez said.

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