former montreal police chief was given 'disguised dismissal,' court rules
philippe pichet, who became chief in 2015, was suspended in late 2017 in the wake of a devastating internal report.
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former montreal police chief philippe pichet was subject to a “disguised dismissal” by the city in the wake of his suspension over dysfunction in the police force, a panel of judges has ruled. the court of quebec decision details how pichet was ousted as police chief and reassigned to a chief inspector role during a “troubled period” within the force in late 2017.
the judges ruled only on how pichet’s promised position as chief inspector was handled, however, not his suspension as police chief.
still, they found that pichet, whose reputation was damaged by scathing reports on the police force at the time, was essentially hung out to dry by the city in a “deplorable” fashion throughout the process.
“the entire chronology demonstrates without a doubt that mr. pichet was indeed the subject of a disguised dismissal,” the panel ruled in late june.
though the three-judge panel ruled in pichet’s favour in finding he was subject to a disguised dismissal, they rejected his lawsuit over the matter, ruling it wasn’t filed within the required 30-day limit.
pichet’s lawyers have already filed a legal challenge to have that aspect of the ruling reviewed.
“we’re very satisfied with the decision’s findings, but we do not agree that we missed the delay,” one of pichet’s lawyers, daniel rochefort, said on tuesday.
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in their 41-page decision, the judges shed light on what happened in the years following pichet’s ousting as police chief and describe in detail how he felt wronged by the city.
pichet, who became police chief in 2015, was suspended in late 2017 in the wake of a devastating internal report that found the department was divided and in a state of organizational disarray.
the report revealed that several criminal allegations against montreal police officers had not been investigated or reported to the provincial public security department, and that the force shielded some officers from disciplinary action.
a second highly critical report, written by then interim police chief martin prud’homme, followed soon after.
pichet sued the city over the suspension at the time in hopes of getting his job back. he eventually dropped the lawsuit and his efforts to be reinstated after reaching a settlement with the city.
as part of that agreement, pichet was to take on the role of chief inspector for the service de police de la ville de montréal.
but according to the recent decision, despite what pichet was led to believe , he was never truly reintegrated into the police force as chief inspector. he instead filled various roles throughout the years, including one the judges agreed could be characterized as “bogus.”
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the decision states that pichet, feeling his career was “shattered” by the reports and suspension, remained solely focused on working for the police force and finding a way to avoid “ending his career as a pariah.”
pichet knew he would need to go through a difficult professional period, the ruling says. “however, he did not know this: the city had no intention of having him work within the spvm in a concrete function as chief inspector.”
between his suspension and 2022, pichet was either offered or ended up taking on different positions, including being put in charge of security at the airport, doing crime prevention research and working on a continuity plan for the police force.
as an example, the ruling says that for most of that period, pichet was working for the force without access to its computer network, an identification card, badge or uniform.
pichet was eventually offered a post heading the police force’s southwest stations in september 2022.
“it’s finally a suitable assignment, but it’s too late,” the ruling states. by then, pichet was suffering from health issues he says are linked to his suspension, including depression and post-traumatic stress. he was put on sick leave and would retire in 2023.
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“in conclusion … the city did not respect either the letter or the spirit of the agreement reached” following pichet’s suspension, the ruling states.
the city of montreal declined to comment on the decision tuesday, citing the ongoing legal action.
in a separate case, pichet is suing the city for damages for how his position as police chief was handled. he also has an ongoing complaint for psychological harassment with the province’s labour tribunal.
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