Windsor police working on policy for handling service calls related to police chief

Members of Windsor's police service board will use their next meeting to formalize the policy governing how Windsor police will to respond to future service calls related to the chief of police. 

Earlier this year, CBC News reported that three Windsor Police Service (WPS) units — including deputy chief Brad Hill — responded to a 911 hang up call that originated from former police Chief Al Frederick's home in the fall of 2018. The call was related to a domestic disturbance.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were later tasked with investigating how the WPS responded to the fall 2018 call, ultimately finding no criminal element.

Speaking to reporters on Monday after a WPS board meeting, Windsor Mayor and WPS board chair Drew Dilkens said he and others — including recently appointed police chief Pam Mizuno — met with representatives from the Ministry of the Solicitor General last week to discuss "what would be appropriate for a new policy going forward."

"I think we got to a good place at the end of the day, going through the different issues and different scenarios and basically saying that what we did the last time was really the most appropriate course of action," Dilkens said. 

According to Dilkens, he notified the WPS board about the fall 2018 call after being informed about it by WPS deputy police chief Brad Hill. 

I think we got to a good place at the end of the day ...- Windsor Mayor and WPS board chief Drew Dilkens

"It would really be up to the board to decide in the future whether or not to seek outside counsel from another police agency, which it's at their discretion to do, and of course always at the discretion of that police agency whether or not to respond to that request," he said. 

Dilkens said the next step will be to "codify" the reporting process, "so that in the future, it will be in directive to members of the Windsor Police Service how they would act in terms of conflict of interest when the chief is involved in a call."

Formal reporting process would be first of its kind in Ontario

According to Dilkens, representatives from the Ministry of the Solicitor General said that no other police force in Ontario has a formal process when it comes to addressing service calls involving the chief of police.

"We will be actually breaking new ground here for other police services in Ontario," said Dilkens. 

Echoing previously made comments, Dilkens said on Monday that nothing would have changed about how officers responded to the fall 2018 call if there was already existing policy governing how officers respond to service calls related to the police chief. 

"What they said to us in this meeting is that really what you did in terms of the actions you took and the steps that were taken to get the information to the board chair and then to the board itself, were the most appropriate in the circumstances," said Dilkens. 

"And it's a matter of codifying that so that in the future, as the board chair changes, as city council changes, as the members of the board change and as members of the Windsor Police Service change, that it's actually codified in writing that everyone knows how to handle situations that involve the chief of police."