mandel: senior toronto cop shouldn't have interfered in probe of nephew
the entire affair reeked of conflict of interest and ba...
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the entire affair reeked of conflict of interest and bad judgment.
so it was no surprise that toronto police insp. joyce schertzer has been found guilty of discreditable conduct and neglect of duty under the police act for interfering in the investigation of her nephew’s crash into a hydro poll — showing that even senior officers can be held accountable.
“i find this matter involved a clear conflict of interest and from the outset, insp. schertzer did not
avoid the situation,” concluded retired opp supt. lisa taylor, who presided over the disciplinary tribunal.
avoid the situation,” concluded retired opp supt. lisa taylor, who presided over the disciplinary tribunal.
the real question is how aunty joyce ever thought that trying to cover for her nephew was a good idea.
on the morning of may 1, 2022, schertzer was on duty as 11 division unit commander when her daughter called with upsetting news: her nephew, calvin dejak, had been involved in a “bad accident” outside the boulevard club. schertzer asked for a priority response car dispatched to the scene.
that was her first mistake.
taylor found that rather than going through the normal channels of calling 911, schertzer’s sending a scout car “circumvented the priority system” to benefit her family.
her second mistake was heading to the scene herself.
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she was the first to arrive to find her sister’s 34-year-old son standing on the grass median by lake shore blvd. w. while his white pickup was smashed into a light standard, its airbags deployed. she proceeded to take part in what taylor slammed as a “cursory and unenthusiastic” investigation by const. braden doherty, which included shutting off his bodyworn camera for two minutes and then allowing her nephew to leave before traffic services arrived and could determine if alcohol was involved.
as a 35-year veteran, taylor said schertzer should have known better to stay clear of any probe of a family member, rejecting her excuse that she was just advocating for her adult nephew’s wellbeing.
“i find it concerning that she did not recognize the issues with her attending a call involving a relative being investigated by an officer under her chain of command,” she said.
video submitted as an exhibit at insp. joyce schertzer’s disciplinary tribunal hearing shows her nephew, calvin dejak’s pickup truck hit a light standard on lake shore blvd. w. (supplied image)
and then there was her agreeing to doherty turning off his camera.
“as a senior officer at a scene where her nephew was being investigated, even with her failure to recognize the clear conflict of interest, insp. schertzer should not have allowed the bwc (the bodyworn camera) to be turned off,” taylor continued.
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“both const. doherty and insp. schertzer testified that nothing nefarious occurred while the camera was off, and simply logistics were being discussed. i cannot then fathom why the camera would not have been left on.”
taylor also found it it was “neglectful” of schertzer to agree that her nephew could leave, even if it wasn’t her suggestion. it was also “troubling,” she said, that even in hindsight, schertzer argued the investigation was complete and there was nothing wrong with letting him go.
the hearing heard calvin had been drinking the night before and had left his truck in the boulevard club parking lot. taylor found no sign in the footage from the bodyworn camera that he was impaired the next morning — her only question was whether he still had any alcohol in his system since he wasn’t allowed any by his g2 licence.
“calvin may have had zero blood alcohol at the time of the collision, but we will never know. calvin was permitted to leave the scene.”
schertzer’s best intentions might have been to just lend support to her family member. but as a senior officer getting in the middle of an investigation, it just doesn’t pass the smell test.
any ordinary citizen looking at this would feel the same.
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“knowing 911 was not called, knowing a senior officer/ aunt of the driver was the first to arrive on scene, knowing the first officer to the call was under that senior officer’s command, knowing there were no checks made nor open-questioning of the driver, knowing the bwc was turned off for a private conversation, knowing that another unit was required to attend and investigate according to policy and that regardless, const. doherty released the driver from the scene,” taylor said.
“i find a fully informed citizen would be shocked when considering the actions and inactions of insp. schertzer and the quality of const. doherty’s investigation and would conclude her conduct would be likely to bring discredit upon the reputation of the toronto police service.”
a penalty hearing is scheduled for oct. 28.
mmandel@postmedia.com
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