'MemeGate' hearing date set for 5 suspended Lethbridge officers
Disrespectful memes circulated among Lethbridge Police Service officers in 2018
UPDATE: On June 11, 2021, lawyers appeared via video link to enter not guilty pleas on behalf of the officers and to book a date for the hearing, now set to begin Oct. 27.
A hearing date has been set for five suspended Lethbridge police officers accused of creating and distributing offensive memes involving the brass and NDP MLA Shannon Phillips.
Four officers each face six charges under the Alberta Police Act; one officer is charged with an additional two offences.
The investigation has been dubbed internally as "MemeGate," according to sources close to the situation.
The charges include two counts of discreditable conduct, three counts of insubordination and one neglect of duty charge.
A sixth officer faces additional discreditable conduct and neglect of duty charges.
The professional conduct hearing is set for April 27, at which time the officers will enter pleas.
Last week, Alberta's justice minister gave Lethbridge police Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh a three-week deadline to produce a plan to shape up the force.
In letters sent to the chief and mayor, Justice Minister Kaycee Madu said he was considering taking the "extraordinary" step of dissolving the police service if he didn't see a concrete action plan.
Recent controversies include the discovery that six employees allegedly used police databases to do unauthorized searches of a cabinet minister's personal information.
Two LPS officers were recently disciplined for photographing and following Phillips, the Lethbridge-West NDP MLA, while she was environment minister under the previous NDP government.
The service says it has been developing an action plan over the last several months to address the problems raised by the "troubling" cases and expects to have a plan to Madu before the three-week deadline.
Officers have controversial history with LPS
The officers facing charges are Sgt. Jason Moulton, Const. Keon Woronuk, Const. David Easter, Const. Matt Rilkoff and Const. Derek Riddell.
Woronuk was recently disciplined for spying on Phillips.
Moulton has filed several previous complaints against Deputy Chief Scott Woods — who also recently served as interim chief — the most recent of which was dismissed last June.
Easter has twice been charged with assault. He was found not guilty in 2014, and in 2020, his charge was dropped.
Riddell was recently named in a CBC story as one of the five officers who used police databases to search Phillips's name without any apparent investigative justification.
Toy Story memes
The meme investigation began in 2018 and was conducted by Edmonton Police Service, which forwarded its findings to LPS in December.
In early March, Mehdizadeh sent an all-staff email advising LPS employees of the officers' suspensions.
The memes are a series of photos distributed by the group deemed the "meme militia."
Some of the memes were posted and circulated on work-issued phones and while officers were on duty, according to sources.
CBC News has not viewed the images but some have been described by those who have.
Several involved the faces of then-chief Rob Davis and Woods placed onto various images including some from the Toy Story movies. Davis was depicted as Buzz Lightyear while Woods was Woody.
The images involved criticisms of the leaders and have been described by police employees as humiliating, offensive and toxic.