Woodstock Mayor Trevor Birtch steps down from Police Services Board

Woodstock's Police Services Board has asked the Ontario Civilian Police Services Commission (OCPC) to investigate the conduct of Mayor Trevor Birtch, who is facing three criminal assault charges including sexual assault and sexual assault with choking. 

Birtch, who serves as vice-chair of the Police Services Board, will be recused from the board while the investigation takes place. 

The decision was made Monday at an unannounced meeting of the Woodstock Police Services Board, the body that provides civilian oversight over the police force. 

"The board has taken this action believing that it is the best means of inspiring public confidence in the abilities and integrity of the board," said Police Services Board Chair Ken Whiteford. 

Whiteford said Birtch was present for a portion of the 90-minute meeting and that all four other board members also attended.

Under the Police Services Act, the OCPC operates a quasi-judicial body with the power to investigate and report on the conduct of police but also on members of police boards. The OCPC has the power to suspend or remove a member from a police board if they are found to be guilty of misconduct or otherwise not performing their duties in a satisfactory manner. 

The OCPC's jurisdiction only extends to Birtch's role as a member of the Police Services Board; its findings will not affect his role as mayor. 

Meeting held in secret

Under Ontario's Police Services Act, police services board meetings are required to be open to the public with notice given ahead of time. That didn't happen Monday, but in his email to CBC News, Whiteford said the board received legal advice from the Solicitor General's ministry before making its decision. 

Erick Laming is a criminology professor at Trent University who specializes in police oversight and accountability. He said there are sections of the Police Services Act that allow police services boards to hold closed-door meetings, including if they're dealing with "intimate financial or personal matters."

Meetings where matters of public security or sensitive financial decisions can also be moved in-camera.

"You can have an open-door meeting, a closed-door meeting or half and half," said Laming. "Generally those type of incidents are rare but they were under their legal right to hold a closed-door meeting." 

Birtch, 46, was charged last week with assault, sexual assault and sexual assault with choking. 

CBC News reached out to Birtch and all six members of Woodstock City council on Monday, but all declined comment. 

Birtch is scheduled to make his first appearance in a London courtroom in May. 

The lawyer who serves as Woodstock's integrity commissioner said Monday he had not received any complaints about the charges against Birtch.