Police board to discuss board member suspended over 'a private matter'

Hamilton's police services board will decide Thursday whether to fill the seat of a board member temporarily suspended for what his lawyer calls a "private matter."

The board will go behind closed doors to discuss the vacant spot left by Walt Juchniewicz, an Ancaster business owner the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) is investigating.

The commission is investigating a "private matter" unrelated to Juchniewicz's work on the board, said Pam Machado, Juchniewicz's lawyer. She wishes she could say more, she said, but she can't.

In the meantime, Juchniewicz's spot on the seven-member board — and the only citizen voice the city appoints — sits vacant.

"It's on the agenda" for Thursday's meeting, said chair Lloyd Ferguson.

The exact nature of the investigation is being kept under wraps. But Machado said Juchniewicz is frustrated the OCPC is involved at all.

It's "a business relationship between the president and owner of a company and someone he chose to hire," Machado said.

"This is another example of OCPC delving into something which should remain in the private realm."

She and Juchniewicz "don't feel there will be any findings of misconduct," she said. And she's in "utter shock" that this is an OCPC investigation.

"These are the taxpayers' dollars at work," she said.

As for the OCPC, it confirmed it's investigating a "code of conduct" issue with Juchniewicz, which means he has to step down until the investigation ends.

"OCPC is proceeding as quickly as possible while ensuring a thorough investigation," said spokesperson Silvia Cheng in an email.

Juchniewicz's time on the board has been colourful so far. The city appointed him in 2013 to replace retired fire chief Jim Kay. Last year, he wrote a letter to then-city manager Chris Murray saying that the board hides issues from the public. 

The letter was related to a post-meeting conversation in late 2016. That's when fellow member Madeline Levy, who is Jewish, told Juchniewicz that Poles killed Jews at Auschwitz. The matter continued on for several weeks and ended with Levy publicly apologizing.

This new matter is unrelated, Machado said. The board discussed it behind closed doors in March. Juchniewicz left the room for the discussion.

When he returned, Machado said, board members said they would implement a policy. Then the OCPC informed him later that someone had filed a complaint.

"We're frustrated," Machado said. She doesn't know how long the investigation will take, or even if Juchniewicz will get a written report.

"We're doing our best to cooperate," she said. "We've asked them to expedite this so it doesn't have any further impact on him or the community. It already has (an effect) on the community. There's one less member on the board."