Hamilton councillor Kroetsch returns to police board after investigation

Hamilton Ward 2 councillor Cameron Kroetsch has been reinstated to the Hamilton Police Service Board (HPSB) after an investigation cleared him of violating its code of conduct last March.

The Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) had launched an investigation into a complaint against the councillor from the board, alleging that he had breached the board’s code of conduct regulations in several ways.

The first was for his efforts to put forward a motion asking the city to direct how the HPSB and Hamilton Public Library Board utilize surplus funds, and the other was for comments he made critical of the HPSB budgetary process.

Members of any police board are required to step down from their duties whenever the civilian judicial agency is investigating them.

In November, HPSB chair at the time Pat Mandy had circulated a complaint against Kroetsch with the rest of the board, alleging that the councillor had breached the code of conduct regulations set out by the Police Services Act.

The OCPC has now closed the investigation and Kroetsch will be attending a board meeting on June 26.

READ MORE: Kroetsch to temporarily step away from police board duties amid complaint investigation

The findings of the Ontario Civilian Police Commission’s investigation

A released statement Monday from Kroetsch said the OCPC found no evidence to support the complaints filed against Kroetsch.

It also read that the motion the councillor put forward in regards to the board’s surpluses at the Audit, Finance and Administration Committee did not constitute misconduct.

The commission also found that Kroestch’s comments made online did not constitute misconduct, despite warnings made to him against making similar comments online in the future.

They also found that his attendance at a rally to support the family of Erixon Kabera did not constitute misconduct.

According to Kroetsch, he had met resistance from the board whenever he had attempted to promote transparency, accountability and better governance.

“Going forward, I intend to continue to use my time on the board as a voice for the public,” said Kroetsch in the statement. “It’s in everyone’s interest to uphold the values of transparency, accountability, and good governance and I will not waver in my dedication to those values.”

WATCH MORE: SIU clears Hamilton police of wrongdoing in death of Erixon Kabera