High-profile Vancouver police officer accused of discrimination, bullying, harassment in civil claim

Accusations of discrimination, harassment, and bullying are being levelled against a high-profile Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officer, who a former civilian employee is suing.

Sgt. Steve Addison is one of the public faces of the VPD, and the media relations officer is named as a defendant in a notice of civil claim filed in the BC Supreme Court.

The court documents, filed on Friday, show the VPD’s former director of public affairs Sharmini Dee is suing Addison and the City of Vancouver, along with the Attorney General and the minister of public safety and solicitor general of B.C., claiming she faced a pattern of almost daily harassment and bullying, along with gender- and ethnicity-based discrimination.

Writing to CityNews, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said he couldn’t comment on an ongoing court case, but provided a brief statement on behalf of the ministry.

“We are devoted to ensuring that every person who works with municipal police services is working in a safe and respectful environment, free from harassment in any form,” said Farnworth.

Dee’s claim includes a long list of accusations against Addison, which have yet to be proven in court.

The Plaintiff, who in her role oversaw the VPD’s media relations officers, accuses Addison of behaviours that undermined her and her position. These include being regularly rude and disrespectful, engaging in threatening and intimidating behaviour, undermining the chain of command, and telling her she was unsuitable for her job and would “fail at it.”

The court documents also claim Addison told Dee that her job should have been given to him.

Dee further alleges that repeated complaints to the VPD administration were disregarded and led to retaliatory abuse, including being identified as not a “team player”.

Dee claims she was ostracized, belittled, and humiliated due to “the systemic culture of gender and racially based harassment and discrimination in the VPD” and that she has suffered psychological damage as a result.

The claim also goes on to say that Dee was “treated differently than her male colleagues.” The claim says “sexually explicit comments were frequently made to or about the Plaintiff by Addison and other members of the VPD.”

In an emailed statement to 1130 NewsRadio, the Vancouver Police Department declined to comment on the civil claim, in which Dee is seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on matters before the courts, specifically personnel matters,” said Const. Tania Visintin, a VPD media relations officer who also works with Addison.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the VPD added that the concerns were reported to the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner of B.C. “and investigated in accordance with the procedures set out in the Police Act and in accordance with the Department’s internal policies and found to be unsubstantiated.”

The City of Vancouver and the VPD have yet to file a response to the claim in court.