Wife of Delta’s police chief won’t face criminal charges for turning hose on woman

DELTA (NEWS 1130) — Lorraine Dubord, the wife of Delta’s police chief, won’t be facing criminal charges as a result of a June incident on her property during which she was filmed insulting a woman before spraying her with a hose.

According to Kiran Sidhu, the victim in the incident, the Surrey RCMP did recommend charges of uttering threats and assault, but the case won’t be prosecuted.

Instead, Crown is recommending alternative measures.

“Crown explained it to me very thoughtfully and carefully and I really appreciated that,” Sidhu says.

“The thing about the alternative measures for adult offenders is they do take into account what I might have to offer in terms of how she could remedy this. In that way, I’m not disappointed in the same way I was when Delta PD didn’t even take it to Crown.”

The Delta Police Department investigated the June 7 complaint, but Sidhu wasn’t satisfied with the transparency of the investigation. That led to an independent review by the Surrey Mounties.

“I do feel validated in that these are real charges that Crown thinks are serious and did occur, and that’s important,” Sidhu says.

A spokesperson for the BC Prosecution Service confirms “this matter has been referred to BC Corrections for consideration of an ‘alternative measures’ resolution.”

Alternative measures are recommended in cases where the accused has no criminal history, according to the service.

“The accused is given the opportunity to accept responsibility for the crime and make amends to the community without going to court.”

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Sidhu welcomes the prospect of being part of the accountability process.

“I’m hoping it’s actually meaningful and true in terms of wanting my input because I will have a lot of input to give,” she says.

“I think this way will end up being more meaningful and hopefully more impactful for the community and also for Lorraine herself and her learning.”

Dubord did issue an apology once the incident came to light, but Sidhu was not satisfied.

“It wasn’t a really meaningful apology. She didn’t even mention my name. She didn’t even take any ownership for what happened, that’s not an apology.”

Sidhu has no regrets about going public.

“I think that really spoke to how much the community cares about this. It is important. It was very lonely for me to go through it on my own and taking it out to the media and the general population was actually really healing for me and the response was overwhelmingly positive.”

Sidhu has made a complaint about how the initial call was handled by the Delta Police Department to B.C.’s Office of the Complaint Commissioner.