Police officer reprimanded for sharing copy of ticket issued to Denis Coderre with her union

Montreal mayoral hopeful Denis Coderre

A Montreal police officer has been sanctioned for breaching the ethics code after sharing a copy of a ticket she gave to former Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre with her union.

After admitting at her hearing that she handed over a copy of the statement of offence to the Montreal Police Brotherhood, Quebec’s Police Ethics Committee issued a reprimand against Const. Nancy Chagnon, according to a decision rendered on Dec. 30, 2021.

The officer, who had no previous history with the ethics committee on her record, acknowledged that she should have questioned the police union further before handing over the document, which constituted a breach of trust, in violation of article 5 of the Code of Ethics of Quebec Police Officers. The infraction given to Coderre was for not paying fees to the SAAQ, the province’s automobile insurance board.

The written decision said Chagnon issued the statement of offence to Coderre, who, at the time was not mayor of Montreal, on March 20, 2012, and that she didn’t know who he was then.

“She also confirms that at the time of her interception, Denis Coderre mentioned to her that he would be her ‘future boss,’” the committee’s decision stated.

The union representing Montreal police officers asked for a copy of it two years later, in November or December 2014. The man on the phone asked if the ticket had been paid, but she didn’t know.

“She assumed that this was a document that the Brotherhood could access since she believed that her union would not make a request that could embarrass her,” the decision stated.

The purpose of the sanction was not to send a message that the Brotherhood could not be provided with a copy of a ticket, but noted that the officer “admits that by transmitting the statement of offence without verifying the purpose for which the document was intended, she did not behave in a manner that preserved the trust and consideration required by her position.”

Both the prosecution and the defence submitted a joint submission on sentencing, which the committee accepted as fair.