Coun. Eadie suspended from police board during investigation of night in drunk tank

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This article was published 07/01/2016 (3619 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City councillor Ross Eadie is paying the price for his night on the town two months ago.

Eadie (Mynarski) confirmed he has been suspended from the Winnipeg Police Board pending an internal investigation into his actions in the early hours of Nov. 7, the night he spent at the Main Street Project — the city’s drunk tank.

“I really don’t know what I did that night but I know I haven’t done anything that would compromise my position on the police board,” Eadie said.

“I’m going to fight this. I’m going to fight this to the end.”

Barry Tuckett, vice-chairman of the police board, said Eadie was suspended within a week of the incident. Eadie did not attend the Dec. 4 board meeting. The minutes from the Dec. 4 meeting state he was absent, without any explanation.

He will not be at Friday morning’s meeting and he will stay away until the board has concluded its inquiry to determine if Eadie’s actions on the night in question breached any sections of the Manitoba Police Boards Code of Ethical Conduct.

“What we want to know, and Coun. Eadie can’t remember, is what actually happened, what was actually said or done,” said Tuckett, who once held the position of Manitoba ombudsman.

“We have to try to find out what was said and done and then we’ll make a determination whether it was a breach of the code.”

Details of night’s events unclear

Eadie admitted he and a friend had been drinking heavily the night of Nov. 6 and into the early hours of Nov. 7 at several different downtown locations. The friend placed him in a cab but Eadie passed out.

When the cabbie was unable to wake him, police were called and they took him to the Main Street Project to sleep it off. He left on his own later in the morning.

A source told the Free Press Eadie had been verbally abusive to the police. Eadie said he couldn’t remember what he did or said that night.

“If you wake up somebody who is totally drunk and you’re blind and you don’t know where you are, more than likely, because I don’t remember, more than likely I probably tried to push them away,” Eadie told the Free Press in an Nov. 8 interview.

Eadie said he had received abusive emails and phones calls because of the incident and he said Thursday that he wants the board’s investigation to end and for his life to return to normal.

“I don’t want any more about the event to be in the public because I’ve been humiliated enough.”

Incident ‘raised public questions’

Tuckett said Eadie by his own admission doesn’t know what he did and Eadie’s own speculations about his actions prompted the board to determine exactly what happened.

Eadie said he believes he’s being investigated to determine if he breached Section 8 of the code, which states, “Board members shall refrain from acting unlawfully and/or from engaging in conduct that would discredit or compromise the integrity of the board of the Police Service.”

But Tuckett said it’s possible Eadie may have breached other sections of the code, including section 9 — which states board members must respect the dignity of individuals — and Section 10, which states they are not to use their office to advance their interests.

Tuckett said the board recognizes that, while some people might be sympathetic with Eadie, others believe his actions might be inappropriate.

“That incident certainly did raise public questions,” Tuckett said. “We have a duty to ensure, and the I think the public would expect, that we would fulfil our duty to ensure members are following that code and we’re conducting an inquiry to get clarification on the incident.”

Resignation, removal possible

Police board chairman Coun. Scott Gillingham said he recused himself from the inquiry because he wanted to remove the suggestion of any conflict of interest as both he and Eadie are members of council.

A subcommittee of the board headed by Tuckett, working with board staff, have been conducting the inquiries, Tuckett said, reaching out to individuals who came into contact with Eadie that night.

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If the board believes Eadie’s actions did breach the code, Tuckett said the options include the board imposing its own discipline, asking Eadie to resign, or formally asking city council to remove Eadie from the board.

“We haven’t made any conclusions at this point,” Tuckett said.

Tuckett said he expects the inquiry to be completed before the board’s Feb. 5 meeting, adding the decision will be recorded in the board’s minutes.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca