Discipline of two officers

kept secret Went to bikers' party

Adrian Humphreys / National Post
Two female police officers caught socializing in a motel with members
of the Hells Angels during the motorcycle gang's national meeting
last summer remain on duty, and officials refuse to say whether the
constables faced any penalty for their indiscretion.
An investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police's internal affairs
unit found the women, who work in northern First Nations communities,
accepted the Angels' invitation to return to their motel where the
bikers had a party.
The constables, who were not in uniform nor on duty, would have walked past dozens of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, decorated with the gang's logo of a winged skull and stickers declaring "Property of a Hells Angel" outside the Super 8 Motel in Kenora, Ont., a resort community near the Ontario-Manitoba border.
The women, both in their early 30s and with less than five years
experience as officers, were seen by police intelligence officers who
had the party under surveillance.
Because police with First Nation bands are not governed by the Police
Services Act, it is up to band councils to decide how its officers are
disciplined.
Both officers remain on duty.
"It's been dealt with. She's back to work and that's it," said Freddy
Cowley, a member of the band council for the Whitefish Bay First
Nation, where one officer works. "There was a concern, but she's back
to work. There is nothing else that was dealt with with her."
Spokesmen for both native communities refused to discuss whether the
officers faced any discipline. All calls were referred to Brian
Rupert, a retired OPP inspector who is helping to establish autonomous
police services.
Mr. Rupert refused to disclose the council's decisions, saying it is
an internal matter for the bands.
"There is no malice intended here, we're merely doing what the
community has asked," he said. "They didn't commit any crimes. They
made mistakes. There is no doubt they made a mistake."
Organized crime observers say even social connections between police
and gangsters can be dangerous and covering up the police response
compounds the damage.
"Here in Quebec we are aware enough of the danger that the Hells
Angels represent and I can't see police officers showing that kind of
behaviour. It is clear in my mind that it would definitely be
considered questionable conduct," said Jacques Dupuis, the Quebec
Liberals' public security critic.
Mr. Dupuis uncovered several cases in Quebec of government employees

selling the home addresses of rivals to gang members.
"The Hells Angels are going to try to infiltrate themselves into
police agencies, into governmental agencies, into political circles --
everywhere where they can better their activities," he said.
"This is how the Hells Angels compromise police officers and turn them
into informants for the gang," said Yves Lavigne, who has written
three books about the Hells Angels. "What these two female constables
did was much more serious than Mel Lastman's gaffe of shaking hands
with a Hells Angel. For a police officer to deliberately fraternize
with organized crime figures taints the badge of every law enforcement
official."
Antonio Nicaso, who wrote 10 books on organized crime, said some
police officers clearly underestimate the threat the Hells Angels pose
to society.
"Episodes like this and like Mel Lastman's handshake increase the
threat. How do you then destroy the image of [bikers] as just a bunch
of nice guys?"
By keeping their handling of the matter secret, officials are
undermining the public's confidence in police, they said.
"The police are making a serious error in not publicizing what has
been done in this matter. The public has a right to know. Policing is
a matter of trust," said Mr. Lavigne.
Said Mr. Dupuis: "If the police agencies and the bands want the public
to have confidence in them they should render their decision in
public."
January 25, 2002