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Police board hopeful officers will work through chief controversy Pamela Roth Victoria News
It’s been nearly a week since Victoria’s police chief Frank Elsner apologized for exchanging inappropriate Twitter messages with the wife of one of his officers. But despite the disappointment and shock expressed by front-line officers in the days that followed, Esquimalt Mayor and police board co-chair Barb Desjardins remains hopeful Elsner’s leadership will be instilled. “I think there’s concern within the force. I want to have an opportunity to sit down with some of the members,” said Desjardins. “From
the community, I am hearing a lot of people saying this is not news, these things happen, people are human and let’s get on with it. And he has done a great job in the last few years.” In August, the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board launched an internal investigation after a concern was brought to their attention about whether Elsner was involved in an inappropriate relationship. According to reports, private messages were exchanged on Twitter between Elsner and the wife (a female officer from Saanich) of an officer under his command. An independent lawyer investigated
Don Denton/Victoria News
Rainy reflections The headlights from cars, trucks and buses heading down Douglas Street are reflected in the wet road surface as heavy rain storms made it seem more like dusk than mid-morning in downtown Victoria. the matter and concluded there was no inappropriate relationship, but there was inappropriate use of direct messaging and social media. What those messages said has not been revealed.
“There’s a policy we have for use of social media and that policy was breached,” said Desjardins. “I know everyone wants to know what was on the tweets, but I think the reality is that we have
dealt with the process, we’ve done everything we can, we do not feel that this was a public trust level nor did our advisors.” In a statement released Wednesday, the police union said
it has no confidence in the way the board and its chairs handled the incident. The union also stated it has no confidence in Elsner’s ability to continue to lead. Earlier this week,
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