The chair of Thunder Bay’s police services board said last week’s criminal charges against the northwestern Ontario city’s former police chief are “deeply disturbing” and reaffirmed efforts to rebuild community trust in the service.
Karen Machado and current police Chief Darcy Fleury spoke at a news conference Monday about the Ontario Provincial Police charges of obstruction and breach of trust against Sylvie Hauth.
“The criminal allegations brought forward by the Ontario Provincial Police are deeply disturbing,” Machado said. “There is a legal and ethical expectation … that information provided by Thunder Bay Police Service is truthful and factual, both to the board and to the community.
“It is critical for our community to have faith in the system that provides oversight to the Thunder Bay Police Service. I understand how these allegations have caused further doubts in these institutions and the system of policing and police oversight in Thunder Bay.”
Thunder Bay Police Service chief, oversight board respond after ex-chief charged by OPP
Thunder Bay Police Service Chief Darcy Fleury speaks about how the police service is trying to rebuild trust in the northwestern Ontario community, as three current or former members of the service, including the former chief, face criminal charges.
Machado said the board has a vision to “modernize the service for the future and build truth and trust with the communities we serve”; that vision, she said, began with the appointment of Fleury and Deputy Chief Ryan Hughes about a year ago.
“We are here today to send a strong message that the allegations, the alleged incidents of the past, are not a reflection of the work that is occurring today,” she said. “Our board will not hesitate to act on any allegations of misconduct.”
The specific charges the OPP announced Friday against Hauth are:
Obstruction of a public officer or peace officer;
Breach of trust by a public officer;
Two counts of obstruction of justice.
Hauth was suspended in 2022 after the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) brought misconduct charges against her under the Police Services Act. After nearly three decades with the service, she retired in 2023 before those allegations could be tested in a hearing.
Fleury, shown in a file photo, told the news conference Monday that the charges against Hauth ‘reinforce … that a chief of police needs to be honest and accountable.’ (Sarah Law/CBC)
At Monday’s news conference, Fleury said the charges “reinforce for me what I already knew — that a chief of police needs to be honest and accountable.”
“This investigation began in 2022,” he said. “Leading up to that time, and since then, it has been a challenging time for our community. I acknowledge the erosion of trust in our service by some residents and I’m inspired by the community desire to move forward, together. We are on a healing journey.”
Fleury said the service has taken several steps toward rebuilding trust with the community, including forming an Indigenous advisory committee and working to start a diversity committee.
Systemic racism, as we know, has been front and centre for many years, in pretty much all of the reports that we’ve seen.– Darcy Fleury, TBPS chief
“Some of the boards, the policies or procedures, we have farmed out to some different agencies to have them look at it,” he said. “Systemic racism, as we know, has been front and centre for many years, in pretty much all of the reports that we’ve seen.
“So we’ve asked these agencies to go through our policies and procedures and make sure that the language in there is not going to be putting us back into a pattern of that sort of systemic racism or potential for that.”
Fleury said those steps are being taken to avoid setting Thunder Bay police officers up for failure “because we put them out there with a policy that the community [doesn’t] agree with.”
“We’re really working hard on that,” Fleury said. “We go throughout this community, listen to everything that’s going on and try to incorporate, and we’re going to be incorporating their ideas.
“Some of the marginalized communities, they’re very strong in their opinions, and we have to listen to that and come up with ways to make sure that they’re being represented.”
Ex-chief confident she’ll ‘prevail,’ lawyer says
In a statement after the OPP charges were announced on Friday, Hauth’s lawyer, Scott Hutchinson, said the decision to lay charges was “both disappointing and regrettable.”
“Chief Hauth is confident that the people of Thunder Bay will not rush to any judgment and will respect the presumption of innocence. She looks forward to her trial where she will present her defence. She is confident she will prevail,” Hutchinson said.
Hauth has been released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court in Thunder Bay on May 7, the OPP said on Friday, and its investigation remains ongoing.
Police service lawyer Holly Walbourne, left, speaks during a meeting in this 2018 file photo alongside Hauth. (Cathy Alex/CBC )
Both Fleury and Machado also issued statements on Friday.
Fleury said the force welcomed the investigation and has co-operated fully with OPP.
“It is another step toward resolution of this matter and our ability to wholly move forward as a police service,” Fleury said. “It is my hope that community members will not allow the results of this investigation to overshadow the ongoing dedication and quality service provided by our TBPS.
“As the justice process is carried out, we will continue on our path forward, learning from the past in order to make the most of our future.”
The statement from the oversight board “thanked the Ontario Provincial Police for its investigation” and said board members “remain seized with our mandate and collective responsibility to ensure the Thunder Bay Police Service is governed effectively so the city can have confidence in its police service.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia‘s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
