After 4 years, Doel discplinary hearing gets underway

(Updated) A police act hearing began Tuesday for Hamilton Police Inspector David Doel, who was suspended with pay four years ago. But once again, another delay, and nothing was accomplished. Lisa Hepfner was covering the hearing at the Crown Plaza Hotel, which essentially became a courthouse for the proceedings Tuesday and has an update.

The fact that the hearing was at a hotel instead of a courthouse became an issue Tuesday morning because we had a camera and the Hamilton Spectator had a camera in a common area of the hotel. We got footage of the lawyers and of Doel. But the hearing officer agreed with David Doel’s lawyer that, if one room is a courtroom, the whole hotel should be considered a courthouse during the proceedings. So we can’t show you the video we shot in the morning.

Instead, we got footage of Doel after he left the hotel and went into the parking lot. His lawyer, Harry Black, started the day by insisting the media be ejected from the room, because he said this is supposed to be a closed hearing. That was an earlier decision of the Hearing Officer, Robert Fitches. He’s trying to protect the identity of the woman who complained about Doel, and there are no publication ban provisions in the police act. But Lynda Bordeleau, lawyer for Hamilton police, tried to argue that the public should be allowed to hear at least some parts of the process. That led to angry exchanges between the lawyers and the hearing officer and another delay as the Hamilton Spectator moved to bring their lawyer in to argue for transparency. Doel is accused of keeping pornography on his work computer, having sex on duty, investigating other police employees for personal reasons, and using police equipment including security cameras for personal reasons.

Doel was suspended in October of 2009 and still makes the Sunshine List of public employees making over $100,000 every year. He’s collected more than half a million dollars since he stopped working. His lawyer has a reputation for defending officers facing discipline and is known for making cases drag on.

This hearing had been on hold for the past nine months because Tuesday was the first availability for Doel’s lawyer Harry Black since the last delay, in which Black tried unsuccessfully to get the hearing officer to recuse himself.

The hearing is scheduled to go until Friday, and there’s another week scheduled in mid December, but it’s conceivable that proceedings could continue to be delayed until Inspector David Doel is eligible to retire with a full pension next September.

Wednesday, the complainant will testify about her experience with Doel. But that will be behind closed doors. Thursday is the first day her lawyer and the media lawyer can both be in court. That’s when they’ll argue about how much the public should be allowed to hear.