Top Durham cops oversaw ‘poisoned’ work culture rife with favouritism and harassment, report reveals
A class of “untouchables,” shielded from discipline and streamlined for promotions. A culture of fear that kept members from reporting workplace misconduct. Personal relationships between senior leaders and lawyers who billed significant hours to handle workplace investigations and disability claims.
The Star obtained a redacted copy of the 212-page report that officials have previously refused to release, and, for the first time, can reveal some of the findings of the investigation into cronyism, harassment and possible criminal activity at Canada’s ninth largest police service.
The now-dissolved Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) launched the investigation in May 2019, citing “considerable and consistent information” that the service’s senior leadership, including former chief Paul Martin, former deputy chief Dean Bertrim, former deputy chief Uday Jaswal and former chief administrative officer Stan MacLellan, were favouring certain officers, and that leaders had attempted to cover up alleged misconduct or criminal conduct on behalf of subordinates.
Senior leadership at the force have denied the allegations over the years.
Investigation launched in 2019 after “considerable and consistent information” received that
The investigation concluded this summer, with a final report, containing 33 formal recommendations, delivered to the Durham police board on July 30. Both Tribunals Ontario, which oversaw the OCPC, and Durham police initially refused to release a copy of the report in August, citing confidentiality provisions.
The Star obtained a partial copy through a freedom-of-information request. Much of the report — including officer names, interviews and four of the formal recommendations made to the service — were redacted.
The sections untouched by redactions confirm a workplace culture “rife with favouritism, cronyism, and paybacks,” in which workplace complaints were mishandled and members who raised concerns were met with reprisal. The result, the commission found, was a deep sense of distrust toward senior leaders.
All told, the report substantiated nine of 22 complaints of harassment and issued formal recommendations to the service. It did not recommend the pursuit of any further misconduct or criminal charges.
In statements to the Star on Tuesday, the board and current Chief Peter Moreira said they welcomed the release of the report and have, over the course of the past two-and-a-half years, worked to implement “significant reforms.”
“I am not only taking steps to implement the recommendations (issued by the OCPC), but also proactively addressing additional issues that were not explicitly identified,” Moreira told the Star.
‘The untouchables’
A “meaningful percentage” of those employed at Durham police viewed their workplace as rife with favouritism toward certain officers at the time the report was authored, according to the OCPC.
The favoured officers were referred to as “the untouchables,” according to the complainants, and were impervious to reports of workplace harassment and allegations of criminal activity.
The report traces much of that conduct back to an unnamed senior leader, who officers claim “wielded a disproportionate amount of power over and manipulated the promotional process” and created unnecessary division by “promoting favourites and freezing out those who had fallen into his disfavour.”
Some of the favoured members, the report states, were approved to enrol in post-secondary degree programs without the board’s knowledge, an opportunity that officers say later helped the recipients rise through the service’s ranks.
Excerpt from a redacted report by the Ontario Civilian Police Commission, obtained by the Star.
Officers also reported a belief that management had manipulated the process by misusing “acting” positions, such as an acting deputy chief, placing their preferred candidates in these roles, often for long periods of time, as a precursor to promotions.
“These are serious allegations, the mere perception of which undermines the integrity of the promotional process,” the report said.
While the commission did not turn up sufficient evidence that any one promotion was improperly influenced, it found at least one opening had been awarded to someone with a personal relationship to another member, and who had a disciplinary history of which the board was not made aware.
On at least one occasion, the commission also found that interview questions were leaked internally ahead of hiring processes.
To these findings, the commission recommended that the current chief make it clear that his office, “and only his office,” is responsible for promotions up to and including the role of superintendent, along with placing a cap on the length of time members can serve.
The commission also suggested the board be provided with copies of any court or disciplinary decisions concerning potential candidates, and that it develop adequate safeguards to protect the interview process.
Calls to investigate relationships with external counsel
The commission found that investigations into workplace complaints were often conducted by external law firms, some of which shared personal ties to members of the service.
A subsequent fear of reprisal discouraged some members from making complaints altogether, according to the report. In the event one was lodged, the resulting investigations were at times “biased or unfair” toward the complainants.
Some of the most serious allegations probed by the OCPC were levied by veteran officer Sgt. Nicole Whiteway.
In her initial complaint, Whiteway alleged that she faced reprisal and collusion from her colleagues and superiors — namely Jaswal — after lodging a workplace complaint concerning comments made by a colleague toward her.
In 2024, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved a $40.5-million lawsuit launched by Whiteway against the service.
Durham police Sgt. Nicole Whiteway (right), seen here with her mother, former Durham Dep. Chief Sherry Whiteway, in an undated photo.
Among the allegations of mishandled complaints, investigators found that, in at least one instance, an unnamed member interfered with the service’s Professional Standards Unit. And in two separate incidents, unnamed employees respectively failed to report a sexual assault carried out by one member on another and provided false testimony during a disciplinary hearing.
As part of its recommendations, the commission suggested the service review at least two historical investigation reports, though the documents do not specify which incidents, and investigate any potential conflicts of interest within external legal counsel.
In his statement to the Star, Moreira confirmed that he has notified Ontario’s Special Investigation Unit about the alleged sexual assault and that the arms-length agency is probing the incident.
PTSD claims ‘vigorously denied’
Durham police displayed a “documented trend” of denying mental health claims from its members, specifically those related to post-traumatic stress disorder, the report said.
Despite a 2016 change in legislation that shifted the onus from employees to prove symptoms of PTSD, the commission found that Durham police “vigorously” opposed “virtually every” application to the Work and Safety Insurance Board for presumptive diagnoses.
Former leaders denied allegations, retired
Martin, the former chief, retired midway through 2020, while the investigation was underway.
Ex-deputy chief Bertrim, who served 34 years with Durham police, was briefly charged with professional misconduct as a result of the probe. The tribunal withdrew the charges in 2024, however, citing no reasonable prospect of conviction and Bertrim retired later that year.
Durham Regional Police chief Paul Martin poses for a photo prior to the swearing-in ceremony for new deputy chief, Dean Bertrim, left, at the Region of Durham Headquarters in Whitby in December 2018.
Jaswal was also charged with two counts of professional misconduct in relation to his time as a deputy chief in Durham. He later went on to accept a job at the Ottawa Police Service, where he would face an additional six counts of professional misconduct in relation to an alleged sexual assault. All eight counts were dropped after he resigned from the force in 2022. This year, Jaswal pleaded guilty to one criminal charge of breach of trust in an Ottawa court.
Both Durham police and Tribunals Ontario, which oversaw the 2019 investigation, have refused to
MacLellan’s departure from the service was announced days before the OCPC released a copy of the report to the board. Durham police did not give a reason for his departure in internal correspondence to members.
MacLellan has since moved on to accept a role as the chief operating officer at the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.
‘Aggressive litigation’ delayed investigation, cost taxpayers
At several points over the course of the investigation, the report found, Durham police and its board sought to obstruct the commission, refusing to disclose documents needed for the probe and causing unnecessary delays.
“It is the commission’s opinion that the board and the service are responsible for an unjustified, significant expenditure of taxpayer funds in resisting and obstructing a lawful investigation,” the report reads, noting that, in 2024, the legal costs related to the investigation were already estimated at $2 million.
“The taxpayers of Durham have a right to know how much the board and service have paid to resist the commission’s investigation,” the report says.
“The service’s history of aggressive litigation demonstrates a pressing need to determine whether taxpayers are receiving value for money.”
The Star has asked Durham police how much the investigation cost in legal fees and has filed a freedom-of-information request for the final figure.
