Validity of cop hearing called into question

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A disciplinary hearing for a Hamilton officer is being called a kangaroo court by at least one retired sergeant. After four days of testimony, a Hamilton Police Services Act tribunal has been put on hold until March. But some observers are shocked that there is a hearing happening at all. They think Sgt. Helena Pereira is being punished for standing up for the rights of women on the force.

We’ve spoken with retired Staff Sergeant Bill Watts who has worked with Pereira. He has written two public letters in her defence — the latest says he has been choking on the testimony he’s heard come from the proceeding. He says in both the 2013 incidences in question, Pereira did the right thing. In his opinion, the other officers got mad at her and decided to get payback.

We have video of both those incidences. We’ve altered them a bit to protect the identities of the people in police custody at the time.

The man in handcuffs is Helena Pereira’s cousin. You can see her come into the sally port and recognize him, but you have to watch carefully to see her swat him. That swat was the unnecessary force she is said to have used.

“It was an emotional moment for both of them in the awkward situation.”

Brad Boyce is with the Hamilton Police Association and is representing Pereira in the hearing: “(What did you think when you heard these charges?) I thought it was a joke. I couldn’t believe it.”

The other incident happened less than two months later. Four officers spent two hours trying to handle a drunk woman. She had already spit on them, urinated in the cruiser and was otherwise what Pereira called a problem. Pereira had arrived early for her shift in the lockup, and hadn’t changed into her uniform. But when she heard the commotion and heard what led up to it, she intervened, and pushed the woman into the cell. She then berated the other officers for losing control. In this case she’s charged with using excessive force, and not wearing her uniform or showing her id.

Boyce says: “She thought that, if she did get changed, she’d be in neglect of duty for not staying to help the officers. ” So she was in a catch-22.”

It was the other officers who complained about Pereira. One of them testified she was so upset by what she witnessed, she cried on the way home from work.

Boyce continues: “Neither of the accused made any inkling of being concerned about this. It’s all internal.”

Boyce says most Police Services Act charges are resolved before the hearing: “We were not able to resolve this informally for a lot of reasons, including the penalty offered was so high that it made it impossible to consider.”

Shortly before she was charged, Pereira filed a human rights complaint against the police service claiming gender discrimination. She’s filed complaints before.

Boyce says: “She’s got some people upset along the way and she’s pushed back and stood up for women’s rights and… I’m not in a position to say a witch hunt, but I wouldn’t argue against those members that may have said that.”

Pereira is a 25-year veteran of the force. She has not been suspended. Brad Boyce expects she’ll get off on most of the charges based on the evidence. But if she’s found guilty, she could lose her job.