Eight Saint John Police Force officers have abandoned their request to have a court review the dismissal of their conduct complaints against the police chief at the time, saying the request is now “moot.”
Robert Bruce retired as chief in July, three years before the end of his extended contract.
“Following his retirement, Chief Bruce is no longer subject to the jurisdiction of the Police Act, rendering the proceedings to investigate him under the Act moot as a matter of law,” Steven Veniot, lawyer for the officers, told CBC News in an email after a case management conference scheduled for Sept. 28 was cancelled.
“Accordingly, the Applicants have agreed to withdraw the proceeding.”
He declined further comment.
End of process ‘unfortunate,’ expert says
Danielle McNabb, an assistant professor of political science at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., who studies criminal justice policy and policing oversight, said the withdrawal “makes sense.”
“From the court’s perspective, there’s nothing more here really to adjudicate,” she said.
Still, she describes the end of the process as “unfortunate.”
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“For the public, I think questions still remain about this entire saga,” McNabb said.
“I don’t think that these types of episodes do a whole lot to … garner the public’s trust in the police and in these institutions that are tasked with carrying out police oversight.”
McNabb contends the New Brunswick government should look at ordering an independent review of the policing oversight system in the province,
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