“They simply performed poorly.”
That’s the word from retired OPP Superintendent Robert Fitches in regards to a trio of Chatham-Kent Police Service (CKPS) members.
But he said that is not something that is worthy of misconduct charges against the officers.
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Fitches delivered his decision Thursday in regards to how police handled a June 2012 investigation into the beating of a Thamesville man.
Joseph Covemaeker was left battered and bloodied after an altercation with as many as three men in the early morning hours of his birthday.
How police investigated resulted in Covemaeker’s father, retired OPP officer Albert Covemaeker, to seek some form of disciplinary action against an investigating officer, Const. Kelly Helbin; and her supervisors, Sgt. Steve Misik and Staff Sgt. Keith Myers.
“It would be completely inappropriate to find any of these officers guilty of misconduct,” Fitches said in his ruling. “Performance deficiencies can and must be dealt with, but it is not appropriate to deal with it through the disciplinary process.”
Fitches said it is up to the police service to provide training to prevent such a situation from recurring.
When Joseph Covemaeker was badly beaten, Helbin was one of the investigating officers. Misik and Myers were her overseers. One person was eventually charged in connection with the beating, but those charges were ultimately dropped.
The Covemaeker family wanted answers.
Albert Covemaeker took the matter to then-chief Dennis Poole, and it eventually wound up before the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD).
That agency, which is responsible for dealing with public complaints about the police, recommended the CKPS proceed with a hearing, which took place over two days last month.
In handing down his decision, Fitches said there were mistakes in how the investigation was handled, but there were also serious problems with conflicting witness statements, as well as the inability of Joseph Covemaeker, who was intoxicated at the time of the beating, to identify any of his attackers or explain what had occurred.
Fitches said the lack of timeliness of the investigation was unacceptable, and oversight and supervision of the investigation wasn’t done at an acceptable level.
“None of the officers did anything with any willfulness or recklessness,” he said. “It may be a systemic failure that permitted all this to occur.”
He added he reviewed other case law before making his decision, and none of it supported charges of misconduct against any of the officers.
The decision did not immediately sit well with Albert Covemaeker.
“There’s no intention of neglect of duty if you don’t know what you’re doing,” he said to Fitches after the decision. “When you neglect to do your duty, does that mean you’ve forgotten and are not guilty?”
Fitches replied, “Case law is very clear. There has to be an element of intent.”
Jeff Littlewood, deputy chief of police, said efforts took place to help prevent such a mistake from recurring.
“When we find out one of our investigations comes short, we look at our training,” he said.
Helbin, Fitches said, has already received additional training. To him that is a sign the police service is working to ensure the cracks that opened up under this case are permanently repaired.
