‘Let’s get to the truth’: People react to inquiry into Estevan Police Service

Estevan’s mayor hopes the Saskatchewan Police Commission’s inquiry into the Estevan Police Service helps “clear the air.”

In a media release Thursday, the Ministry of Justice said the inquiry will look into what it called “workplace concerns” at the police department.

In March, the City of Estevan issued a statement in which it said “concerns” had been brought to its attention after the death March 5 of Const. Jay Pierson.

According to the 49-year-old Pierson’s obituary, he had been diagnosed with PTSD in March of 2017 and had to “repeatedly fight to defend his diagnosis in order to receive WCB benefits which were essential to support his family.”

Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig says he had reached out to Christine Tell — the province’s minister of corrections, policing and public safety — to ask the Saskatchewan Police Commission about conducting the inquiry, something which he says needed to happen.

“I had gotten ahold of Christine Tell and her ministry and had requested an inquiry because of the questions being raised around here,” Ludwig said. “There was a lot of finger-pointing and we would like to clear the air.

“I’m not sure what they will find when they do this inquiry. Let’s get to the truth and then we can all work together if there are issues to take care of them and move forward.”

Ludwig says Pierson’s death is prompting conversations that need to be had when it comes to mental health support in police departments — not just in Estevan, but around the province.

“It kind of brought everything to a head. Once that all came out, it brought to light some of the issues that we maybe faced within the department,” Ludwig said. “So we thought, ‘Well, let’s get these issues out in the open, let’s deal with them and turn the page.’

“We are thankful that Minister Tell agreed to take a look at this and that they decided to go ahead with this inquiry. Hopefully this is done by the fall, and I hope everyone is open and transparent.”

980 CJME reached out to former Estevan police chief Paul Ladouceur, who resigned as the city’s police chief on April 16.

Ladouceur said he had no comment at this time regarding the inquiry.

Sask. Federation of Police Officers weighs in

The City of Estevan was not the only entity to reach out to the Saskatchewan Police Commission regarding concerns about the police service.

The president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers (SFPO), Casey Ward, says the SFPO has been very outspoken when it comes to its frustration in how Pierson had been treated by his local department.

“After Jay’s passing, we had written a letter to Minister Tell and had some great communication with the ministry about some of the issues that we saw happening within the Estevan Police Service,” Ward said. “Since that time, the chief has resigned, and we still felt that we needed to look into this a little bit further.

“We just want to make sure the members are taken care of and that everything is going in a positive way. Mental health is a huge issue we’re dealing with.”

Ward believes it is paramount that officers feel comfortable in talking about mental health struggles they may be facing outside of work. He hopes the inquiry will be a step in the right direction.

“We want members to know that when they are just starting to struggle, they can come forward and get that early intervention,” Ward said. “There just seemed to be a lack of that there in Estevan.”