THE Delta Police Board on Friday said in a statement that Crown Counsel has not approved criminal charges against the wife of Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord, Lorraine, in the case involving her rude, aggressive behaviour with a South Asian teacher at Surrey’s Centennial Beach and has referred the matter to “alternative measures.”
Richmond school district teacher Kiran Sidhu, a Surrey resident, had alleged that she experienced not only a verbal attack, but also an alleged physical assault on June 7.
(Incidentally, Dubord was rumoured to have been a strong candidate for the post of Chief Constable of the new Surrey Police Service. But South Asians in Surrey would not welcome him if he were to be selected.)
The Board said: “Regarding the Surrey RCMP investigation of an incident that occurred in Delta on June 7, 2020, the Delta Police Board has been informed that at this time Crown Counsel has not approved criminal charges and has referred the matter to alternative measures. Delta Police had requested the matter be reviewed by Surrey RCMP on June 15, 2020.”
George Harvie, Delta Mayor and Police Board Chair, said: “There are still a number of related processes ongoing. The Board will refrain from commenting until all related matters have concluded. We will provide further updates at the appropriate time as those matters proceed.”
The Delta Optimist newspaper reported last June that Sidhu left a socially-distanced picnic at Centennial Beach early. She wasn’t familiar with the beach area and was forced to climb onto some rocks to get to where her car was because the tide was coming in.
The rocks were along the residential property line of Dubord’s home and soon Sidhu had Lorraine reportedly yelling at her to get down.
Sidhu told the newspaper that she couldn’t comply with that demand because of the tides that she was later told by a police officer were 10 to 12 feet high.
She tried explaining her predicament to Lorraine, but the latter allegedly rudely told her: “If I was as fat as you, I wouldn’t be at the beach.”
Sidhu told the newspaper: “I kept going, and I called her a ‘Karen’ [according to Urban Dictionary, Karen is “the stereotypical name associated with rude, obnoxious and insufferable middle aged white women”] and asked whether she was going to call the police. She started it and I’m not one to be a victim of abuse from anyone. I almost slipped at one point, and she said it would be so funny if you fell. I swore at her again and she said she would spray me with her hose.”
Lorraine actually followed up on her threat, spraying Sidhu with a garden hose.
Lorraine emailed the Delta Optimist: “I would like to apologize to the individual involved in the way the situation was handled at Centennial Beach three weeks ago. Everyone should feel welcomed and supported in our community.”
Sidhu filed a complaint with the Delta Police Department that was handed over to Surrey RCMP to investigate.
At the time, Mayor George Harvie, told that newspaper: “I have recently made statements along with Delta council and the Delta Police Board absolutely and unequivocally condemning racism in our city. Without question there is systemic racism in our society. I fully recognize that as leaders we need to do more to combat racism, hatred and discrimination in our community.”
Also, in June, the office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) announced that as a result of a complaint filed from a member of the public, it has initiated an external investigation into allegations of misconduct related to the Delta Police Department’s handling of a case involving the spouse of the department’s chief constable.
The OPCC also forwarded a related service and policy complaint to the Delta Police Board regarding the adequacy of the department’s policies and procedures in handling matters where there is a real or perceived conflict of interest.
The OPCC said it learned of the incident initially in media reports and requested additional information from the Delta Police Department. The office subsequently received a misconduct complaint from an affected person.
After reviewing the complaint and responses provided by the Delta Police Department, the OPCC deemed the complaint admissible and assigned the Vancouver Police Department to carry out an external disciplinary conduct investigation into the matter.
The disciplinary conduct investigation was to focus solely on whether any Delta police officer committed misconduct in the matter, and is entirely separate from the RCMP criminal investigation currently underway. The OPCC has no role in criminal investigations.
Both the disciplinary misconduct investigation and the service and policy complaint was to be conducted under the oversight of the OPCC.
At the time, CTV News Vancouver’s reported that one officer, who was involved in the early stage of the investigation into his wife’s conduct, was the chief’s former executive assistant is correct.
This constable was hired on the Delta Police Force in February 2019 after serving as the chief’s executive assistant, according to CTV News.
As CTV News pointed out, the assaults allegedly occurred on June 6, Sidhu reported the incident to Delta Police on June 7 and she was informed by Delta Police that the file was closed on June 10.
But a feisty Sidhu persisted in her quest for justice and Delta Police was forced to hand over the investigation to Surrey RCMP for investigation on June 23.
