The Independent

Sarnia’s interim police chief is on the job.

Police Services Board Chair Kelly Ash says Mike Federico was sworn in Monday, the same day Deputy Chief Ron Hansen and a civilian were suspended.

The two suspensions are linked to the workplace harassment investigation lodged against Chief Derek Davis May 19. Eight days later, after the board reviewed the chief’s contract, Ash said the board would not be paying Davis’ legal fees for a civil suit he filed against The Sarnia Journal and its owner after several articles and columns critical of the department.

May 29, Davis’ lawyers filed a notice to discontinue the suit permanently. It’s a move The Journal’s owner, Nathan Colquhoun, in a news release called it a “meaningful victory for local journalism and the public’s right to hold power to account.

Marshall Workplace Law is now talking with police services members for the investigation.

It’s not clear how many complaints have been filed by members of the department. “It’s kind of one big complaint, like how many different people have come forward. I can’t tell you, I don’t know yet, but there’s, multiple, but this most recent one is a result of information that has come forward during this investigation,” Ash told The Independent.