A high-ranking B.C. officer used police resources to conduct at least 92 searches on his ex-girlfriend and her family while stalking her over a period of five years, according to documents exclusively obtained by CTV News.
A misconduct probe into Staff Sgt. Andrew Walsh, who was the head of the detective division for the Saanich Police Department at the time, began in April of 2021 after a woman he previously had a romantic relationship with made a report to the province’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.
The woman, who CTV News is referring to by her initials. T.B., made the complaint after Walsh “in uniform and out of jurisdiction” showed up at her home – where he had never been before — nearly four years after their relationship ended, according to the finding of the discipline authority.
“It was absolutely shocking to me,” T.B. tells CTV News, adding that she moved in 2020 and was relieved to live somewhere where Walsh did not know to look for her.
“When did he find me here? How did he find me here? Has he been driving by in unmarked cars? It’s just such an invasion and intrusion. It was a bad relationship, not a good split up. I’ve created a real safe, loving environment and relationships for myself. It ripped a hole into my safe world.”
The next day, she contacted the Saanich Police Department, where she had worked for 30 years. One of her primary worries was that Walsh had used police databases to get information about her. She made the formal complaint soon after.
‘EGREGIOUSLY SERIOUS’
The 2021 incident, the investigation found, was just one example of what was described as “egregiously serious misconduct” committed by Walsh after his relationship with T.B. ended in 2017.
“Staff Sgt. Walsh has demonstrated intermittent, unwanted communication with Ms. B. over the course of years between 2017 and 2021 despite her multitude of attempts to get him to stop. His actions go beyond passive contact and rather are active and overt steps that have been considered in similar police investigations to be considered harassment or stalking,” the investigation concluded.
“Overt acts of stalking in intimate partner violence investigations are considered a significant risk factor, particularly over the course of such a long period of time,” the discipline authority noted.
The misconduct decision found that Walsh committed three separate types of misconduct: discreditable conduct for his “ongoing harassing behaviour;” corrupt practice for his “excessive use of a police database for personal gain;” and deceit for “providing misleading and false information” during the investigation.
The appropriate penalty, the discipline authority said, would be for Walsh to lose his job.
“Anything other than dismissal would bring the administration of police discipline into disrepute and be contrary to the public interest,” the documents say.
However, Walsh was never fired. He retired before the investigation concluded.
The case was officially closed on Aug. 4, 2022. Walsh did not dispute the outcome, nor did the victim. The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner did not find any reason to order a review on the record or public hearing. The identities of municipal police officers accused of misconduct and the details of the allegations only become public when the OPCC orders a review or hearing.
While the investigation was underway, T.B. says she continued to live in fear.
“All of this this time I’m looking out the window. My husband put …….