Deadly fire in Old Montreal: Fifth police officer quits investigation team

Another investigator from the Montreal police team tasked with finding the author of the shooting at Place d’Youville has quit. She was the fifth to go This unit, because Toxic environment there governance

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Our Bureau of Investigation learned from well-informed sources that one of its investigators on loan from the Montreal City Police Department for major crimes had been forced to hastily withdraw the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in early November. (SPVM).

The police officer with nearly 12 years of seniority with the federal police is in the SPVM from 2021. From March 2023, she participated in the investigation into a fire in Old Montreal that killed seven people. It was the deadliest fire to hit the metropolis in nearly 50 years.

Since then, the police officer is not authorized to speak to the media, according to multiple sources who spoke to our Bureau of Investigation on condition of anonymity, and will face an ordeal on her team.

“For months she endured humiliating and demeaning comments,” says one of our informants.

Our sources say the researcher is sidelined when making important decisions, excluded from certain team meetings and described by one official as “slow”.

The work stops

Affected by the situation, the police officer called the RCMP employee assistance service and instructed her to withdraw from the SPVM immediately.

This recommendation was accepted by the federal police superior who accompanied the police officer to the SPVM parking lot where they returned her personal effects to them.

The woman was then placed on sick leave. We have learned that the RCMP has ordered her to cut all ties with members of the SPVM’s Major Crimes Investigation Team.

The fifth start

The policewoman is the fifth person to leave the department since the investigation into the fire at Place d’Youville began.

Two investigators requested a team change in the first weeks of the trial, while two others left in mid-October.

Our Bureau of Investigation has also revealed that some choices made by the police at the time had marred the investigation and this affected its outcome.

Neither the SPVM nor the RCMP wanted to comment on the police officer’s specific situation, citing privacy reasons.

However, the Montreal police have pledged that they “will not tolerate disrespect, misbehavior or harassment by members of their staff.”

In cases where they arise, these allegations are “taken seriously and subject to immediate attention,” the organization stressed.