‘Definitely a one-off:’ Regina police chief weighs in on charges against officer

Regina Police Service Chief Evan Bray doesn’t believe the charges filed against an officer Thursday are indicative of a deeper issue with the police force.

“I’m certainly not worried that this is just the tip of the iceberg or the start of a problem,” Bray told reporters Thursday when discussing an officer who didn’t come forward with personal information. “This is definitely a one-off.

“It’s one that I’m not proud of as chief of police and it’s definitely something that we’re going to have to work through. But it’s something that is not indicative for sure of our organization.”

Earlier Thursday, the police service issued a media release saying Const. Scott Ash had been charged with six counts of driving while prohibited.

According to a summary provided by police, on Aug. 19 of last year, an RPS vehicle equipped with an Automated Licence Plate Reader gave off an alarm to signal a suspended driver when it passed a parked vehicle. That later was identified as Ash’s personal vehicle.

“The investigation that followed confirmed that Ash was a prohibited driver and alleges Ash operated police vehicles as a Regina Police Service constable on at least six occasions between July 14, 2021 and August 26, 2021,” the police summary said.

Ash was relieved from duty with pay for 30 days Thursday morning, Bray said, and currently is no longer working for the police service in any capacity.

Bray said 30 days is the standard order and, once that period of time is up, the police service can make an application to extend the relief — something the chief believes will happen. Ash’s case won’t even be before the courts until March 24.

An administrative investigation will be conducted by the Professional Standards Unit of the Regina Police Service after the criminal matter is dealt with. After that, Ash will learn his fate with the service.

“Dismissal is on the table,” Bray said. “At this point, it’s too early for me to commit to say that that’s absolutely where this is going, but it’s absolutely on the table.”

Asked how the service could justify keeping Ash, Bray admitted public confidence in the police force is “forefront in our minds” and will play a role in the final decision.

Bray said Ash’s file contained a couple of discipline issues, which Bray said were conduct issues under The Police Act. Ash also had an impaired driving charge from 2019 on his record which resulted in a $3,000 fine and a one-year driving ban.

When he didn’t pay that fine, SGI suspended his licence — and that led to the events of August. He didn’t tell the police service that his licence had been suspended.

Bray said the six charges relate only to incidents when Ash was driving a police vehicle. Bray admitted the one week between the time Ash’s licence plate was flagged on Aug. 19 to the time he was prohibited from driving a police vehicle on Aug. 26 was a result of some red tape.

“An investigation was started immediately and in that investigation, there’s a lot of moving parts that have to happen to be able to prove whether or not that suspension was current, was valid, and some of that relied on getting access to some information,” Bray said. “And some of that information wasn’t easy to access, whether it was through a weekend or happening in an immediate fashion.

“There was a reassignment that happened to Const. Ash to take him off the street fairly quickly after we learned that, but there was a period of time before that where Const. Ash was not only operating his personal vehicle but also was operating a police vehicle.”

The investigation showed Ash was driving to work and occasionally driving during his shifts. There also were times when he was riding with a partner who was driving the police vehicle.

“What we knew on that day was obviously just enough information that we wanted to dig into it further and start an investigation,” Bray said. “It was only after the investigation that we learned when he was driving, the dates he was driving, and that’s what has come out in the charges.”

Bray said the police service relies on its employees to be open about civil or criminal issues, which didn’t happen in this case with Ash’s suspended licence. Bray admitted he felt some disappointment in this case because the service could have kept Ash out of the situation by assigning him to desk duty.

The chief said the case has highlighted some administrative processes that he would like to see the service “tighten up,” but he said he won’t go so far as to do driver’s licence checks or Canadian Police Information Centre checks on employees.

— With files by 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick

EDITOR’S NOTE: On June 1, 2023, Ash pleaded guilty to one count of driving while prohibited and received a $300 fine with a $90 surcharge. Five other counts were stayed.