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Five Lethbridge Police employees suspended over misconduct allegations

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge Police say five employees within the service have been suspended with pay.

The suspensions are pending a professional misconduct hearing, however this is believed to be unrelated to previous allegations which were addressed last week by Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh.

The LPS has been in the spotlight recently after it was revealed some officers allegedly used police databases to search Lethbridge West MLA Shannon Phillips’ name for no investigative purposes.

That happened in 2018 when she was still Alberta’s Environment Minister. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team continues to investigate.

The Lethbridge Police Service issued a statement Monday afternoon regarding these suspensions:

Five employees have been suspended with pay pending a professional misconduct hearing, which falls under the Police Service Regulation and Police Act. Any disciplinary sanctions will be pending the outcome of that hearing process.

To protect the integrity of the hearing process, we cannot discuss the names of those being investigated or the nature of any evidence before it is introduced at the hearing. The particulars of the hearing will be posted to the Lethbridge Police website in due course, and it is expected the hearings will be public.

The 2018 incident was referred to an outside agency for investigation. Lethbridge Police received the findings of the investigation in late December, 2020, and have been reviewing the matter and ensuring the proper processes are in place moving forward. Outside legal counsel has been retained to prosecute the misconduct charges.

Lethbridge Police are unable to comment further at this time, but as the process unfolds and it is appropriate, we will provide updates.

Patrick Siedlecki
Patrick Siedlecki
Pat has been a mainstay in the CJOC News department from the time the station launched in 2007. He's been in the position of News Director since then and has been anchoring daily news casts as well as reporting and working behind the scenes. Community is important to him and keeping CJOC listeners and readers informed about what's happening across southern Alberta and beyond. Pat has been in radio broadcasting for the past 24 years, starting in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in 1997 and then moving up island to Nanaimo for another few years before heading to Lethbridge in 2007. Pat grew up in the small Saskatchewan farming town of Foam Lake. After high school, he went to Western Academy Broadcasting College (WABC) in Saskatoon prior to moving to the island. Pat also spent several years broadcasting hockey in the BCHL as well as seven years as the radio voice of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL. Pat has been working at Cornerstone Funeral Home in Lethbridge as a Certified Life Celebrant and Funeral Assistant since 2016. News and sports have always been Pat's passion from the time he was a teenager and he's always been grateful to have had the opportunity to make that part of what's been a fun and long radio career!
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