Heather Wright/The Independent

The investigation of the actions of Sarnia Police Chief Derek Davis is now a criminal matter.

That’s according to a letter from the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency sent to the owner of The Sarnia Journal. It was provided to The Independent by Nathan Colquhoun and verified by the LECA as authentic. Colquhoun filed the complaint to the agency April 13.

Starting in May 2025, Colquhoun wrote a number of columns and articles and posted a 35-minute-long video critical of the Chief’s financial interest in Norigen/Norin Management Consulting Inc and the hiring of his partner in the business, Joseph Glover as the Sarnia Police Service as the Manager of Analytics. The department began developing its own analytical software after Davis came on board in 2022.

A week after Colquhoun’s video was posted his personal social media channel March 30, Davis filed a $1.5 million defamation lawsuit against him and The Sarnia Journal. The police service, the board chair said at the time, would foot the legal bill for the action.

But on May 18, the Police Services Board announced Davis’ suspension pending a workplace harassment investigation. Sources say a meeting with the board and members of the Police Association kick-started the investigation. It’s not clear how many workplace harassment complaints have been filed by members of the department.

“It’s kind of one big complaint,” Police Services Board Chair Kelly Ash told The Independent in June. “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.”

May 27, the police services board announced it would not fund Davis’ legal claim against The Sarnia Journal. Davis dropped the suit two days later.

While the defamation lawsuit ended, the investigation by the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency continued. In a letter addressed to Colquhoun, Libero Papagni, Senior Manager of Investigations at LECA says the agency “retained your complaint for investigation” on June 17.

But July 28th letter, said that investigation has been halted because “It has come to the director’s attention that this matter has become the subject of a criminal investigation.

“Based on this information, the director has now determined the commencement of the investigation of this matter is to be suspended.”

Colquhoun’s complaint to the LECA included his concerns about Davis’ financial interest in Norigen and the hiring by Sarnia Police of his business partner from the firm. Colquhoun’s complaint also raised concerns about the hiring of a civilian to the analytics project. He had been a Halton Regional Police officer until he plead guilty to breach of trust after stealing drugs from the department’s evidence room.

The LECA would not say which police service is in charge of the criminal matter, saying it was a question for the Sarnia Police Services Board to answer. The Sarnia Police Services board met in closed session July 22, with no information about the meeting being made public.

Friday, the board chair would not comment on the criminal investigation, telling The Independent to speak with the LECA. Ash did confirm Friday that the workplace harassment investigation is ongoing.

A series of questions submitted to Sarnia’s Interim Police Chief, Mike Federico, about the criminal investigation were not immediately answered.

Davis, who has a contract with the Sarnia Police until 2032, has not spoken about the workplace harassment investigation.

Deputy Chief Ron Hansen and a civilian were also suspended in the investigation.