The OPS needs a culture change, and it won’t come from inside

CALGARY—The Ottawa Police lack accountability.

Last year, an Ottawa Police Service (OPS) constable was only demoted for slapping his colleague’s behind. He was also her training officer, meaning he had power over her career. This clear abuse of power was only met with a slap on the wrist, as reported by the Ottawa Citizen: “Adjudicator Lisa Taylor, a retired OPP superintendent, has ordered that OPS Const. Charles Benoit be demoted to second class constable for 18 months. After that period, he will return to his original rank of first class constable.” Sexual harassment of subordinates hasn’t gotten him fired from the OPS, instead just managed. And that is entirely the problem. If male officers can do this to their colleagues, what will they do to the public? 

We know the answer. On June 15, the CBC published an investigation into OPS's culture of sexual misconduct. What the investigation revealed was a system of sexual misconduct against women. Some officers used police databases to run women’s licence plates for dating purposes. A different CBC report found that last year, an OPS constable, Jerome Rabiha-Stevens, “used police and Ministry of Transportation databases to search for people he knows personally and other members of the public for more than a year.” This included “his now ex-partner, a woman he was having a sexual relationship with, and women he met at the gym.” Instead of being fired, he was demoted. In another case reported by the CBC, Const. Andrew Reesor faced “discipline after being accused of making 77 unauthorized database searches, including queries into women he admitted to being attracted to.” He has a disciplinary hearing scheduled for Aug. 27. 

Sgt. Robert Cleroux died by suicide in March of this year while he was being investigated for sexual assault and sexual harassment. CBC News reveals that the accusations were from two former students of Collège La Cité’s police foundations program: “Cleroux, who was supervising their simulations of police work at the college in late 2021, sexually harassed and sexually assaulted them.” The allegations were known as early as 2022, but they were only investigated in late 2025/January 2026 when Cleroux was suspended from duty with pay. 

OPS Supt. Mark Patterson “previously faced criminal charges for allegedly grooming and sexually assaulting a female recruit, but they were withdrawn last year after the complainant was no longer interested in participating in the criminal process. He is now facing internal disciplinary charges related to the allegations,” reported the CBC. According to the broadcaster, Patterson is also being investigated “for allegedly using his position to inappropriately influence the recruitment process, entering into an unprofessional intimate relationship with a candidate participating in the recruitment process, and engaging in a sexual act with a member of the public without her consent.”

I’m noticing a theme of reinforcing permissive structures of violence against women. Even OPS’s union president, Matthew Cox, is being investigated by the Special Investigations Unit for an alleged sexual assault in 2008. He still has his job and full pay. The Ottawa Police Association union confirmed that the president "remains in his role at this time. The allegation relates to a matter reported to have occurred in 2008, prior to his election as president,” CBC reports. Well, in that case, we should all shut up and go home. There is zero justice with law enforcement. 

I haven’t even mentioned the intimate partner violence allegations that pepper the force. 

OPS Chief Eric Stubbs recently released a video to the rank-and-file officers that states these behaviours are not to be tolerated, and encourages officers to change their ways or quit. I’m sure a strongly worded video will fix things. In my opinion, were the chief serious about solving the problems and optics, women’s organizations wouldn’t have to write a letter just to ask to meet with them. Under Stubbs’ leadership, which began in 2022, the Ottawa Police shut down the independent workplace investigations office in 2023, which was part of the oversight infrastructure erected to address these same problems. CBC News noted the decision was made without consulting the police board—the civilian oversight organization—even though the office was created “from a joint police and police board strategy to end workplace sexual violence and harassment.”

Stubbs is emphasizing the recruitment of more women as a solution. It is not. Putting clean water into a pool filled with feces just makes the clean water dirty, not the dirty water clean. 

There is no way to change workplace culture from the inside; it must be done with a swath of criminal charges, firings, restitution to the victims, and outside pressure. Many people think the police can be reformed; however, they haven’t made progress on that front for years.

But Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe keeps giving them more money. The Ottawa Citizen confirms that Sutcliffe proposed “the largest budget increase for policing in 15 years.” It was passed unanimously. Calls to defund the police were not to starve them of resources; it was about reducing their power and instilling accountability. We had a chance to do so, blew it, and now we are seeing the consequences.

Erica Ifill is host of the Bad+Bitchy podcast.

The Hill Times