Former West Vancouver police chief Kash Heed says problems of sexual harassment, racism and bullying that existed before his tenure at the West Vancouver Police Department still exist within the organization.
“It’s not just former employees,” who are talking about the problems, said Heed. He said several members of the West Vancouver Police Department have spoken to him in the past six months about continued inappropriate behaviour in the organization.
Heed said those people are reluctant to come forward with their concerns over fear of retaliation.
On Monday, West Vancouver Police Chief Peter Lepine announced he will step down from the top job at the department after five years on the job.
Lepine — who succeeded Heed in the top position — said his decision was unrelated to the public airing of an employee survey which pointed to plummeting morale at the department.
It also came a day after a news story was published detailing allegations of harassment.
This week, both Lepine and West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith characterized most of those incidents as dating back about a decade.
“That was a very long time ago,” said Lepine.
The West Vancouver Police Association, which represents unionized police officers at the department, also issued a statement saying “many of the comments made in the media by former employees are not representative of the current conditions at the West Vancouver Police Department and (the association) is disappointed that this serious situation is being used as an attempt to further personal agendas.”
Detective Tom Wolf von Gudenberg, president of the police association, questioned how Heed “after being away from our organization for several years now . . . maintains such a close relationship with our members.”
Wolf von Gudenberg said he’s only aware of one complaint in the past year. “It has been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction,” he said.
Lepine acknowledged there have been allegations of harassment at the department that have been investigated within the past several years. “In some cases these allegations were substantiated. In others, not,” he said.
Heed said he’d heard about problems including remarks full of sexual innuendo, racism and bullying at the department before he took the top job in West Vancouver.
Heed said those who were part of an “old boys club” at the department were favoured, while others found themselves on the outside.
Heed, who is Indo-Canadian, said he heard racial slurs directed at both him and his wife.
When he started making changes to the culture, he said about a third of the officers were on-side immediately, a third were “sitting on the fence” and a third were decidedly resistant. He acknowledges not all his moves were well received. “I was not there to be popular.”
Heed said once he left the department to enter politics, the culture within the department reverted to what it had been previously. “They defaulted to that traditional management style,” he said.
Heed said he was shocked by the recent results of the employee survey. “I have never seen surveys that showed that level of dissatisfaction with the upper echelon,” he said. “That’s very concerning.”
This week, both Attorney General Suzanne Anton and WorkSafeBC announced they will be looking into what’s happening in the department.
Megan Johnston, a spokeswoman with WorkSafeBC, said an inspector would visit the police department to ensure compliance with anti-bullying regulations.
Heed warned it will take bold moves to solve the problems. That could even involve merging the West Vancouver Police Department with the Vancouver Police Department, he suggested.
Lepine said the department is working on the issues identified in the employee survey.
