An Edmonton police sergeant, Ken Smith, has been demoted to constable with a pay cut after making degrading sexual comments to three homosexual officers. He has been in the police force for 22 years and has been a sergeant for the last six. His remarks were further aggravated after Smith showed no remorse for making the comments and how it affected his colleagues.
Smith will have the opportunity to fill a leadership role after two years but as of now he has “crossed a line,” according to Fred Kamins, a retired RCMP chief superintendent who presided over the hearing. During the second year, after taking harassment awareness courses and with the approval of a supervisor, Smith may be considered for temporary acting duties.
One comment was made to a constable when being told why he shouldn’t work with Smith’s crew. Smith mentioned that one of the men on the crew was gay and stated that “the car smelled like sex.” He later made another comment to two constables stating they could only work together if there was no “hanky-panky in the car.” A month after that, Smith walked into a room with three constables sitting on one side of a table. Smith sat at the other end and proclaimed “I guess this is the straight side of the table.” He was made aware of the uncomfortable comments and did not address them.
This case is still ongoing and the police said they couldn’t comment on the situation because there may be an appeal.
