The appellant police officer appealed a penalty of 72 hours forfeiture of time off following a guilty plea to discreditable conduct for using profane, abusive, or insulting language related to sex toward a female colleague.
The Commission upheld the finding that the single incident constituted a poisoned environment and that the hearing officer appropriately considered the impact on the victim.
However, the Commission reduced the penalty to 45 hours forfeiture, finding that the police service's management shared responsibility for allowing a workplace culture of inappropriate conversation without having a sexual harassment policy in place.
