Four police officers from the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) are in the crosshairs of the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI) for “allegations of criminal acts”, Commissioner Frédérick Gaudreau said in a press release on Thursday afternoon.
This time, the case would be linked to the stay of proceedings from which the former mayor of Terrebonne Jean-Marc Robitaille and his co-defendants benefited, in October 2021.
The investigation was ordered by the Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault, at the request of Commissioner Gaudreau, explains the latter.
According to section 286 of the Police Act, the Commissioner “must forthwith inform the Minister of any allegation relating to a criminal offense committed by a police officer, unless he considers, after consulting the Director of Criminal Prosecutions and penal, that the allegation is frivolous or baseless”he recalls.
The allegations target two managers and two investigators from theUPAC. These were assigned to administrative tasks.
Former Mayor Robitaille and three co-defendants faced charges of corruption and breach of trust when a stay of proceedings was decreed in their favor in a very harsh judgment against the prosecutors of the Director of Criminal Prosecutions and criminal (DPCP).
However, he appealed the decision.
Commissioner Gaudreau also indicated on Thursday that he had ordered last December an external review of the whistleblower handling and handling process in light of the stay of proceedings from which former Mayor Robitaille benefited.
The mandate was given to former Superior Court magistrate Robert Pidgeon, who retired in the spring of 2020.
It is not the first time that the EIB investigation of theUPAC. The Oath project, which aims to shed light on the leaks that marked the first years of existence of the specialized police force, has been ongoing since November 2018.
More details will follow.
Source: Radio-Canada
