Details of a preliminary investigation into former Police Services Board Chair Dennis Travale were brought to light this week.
During a verbal update, Board member Kristal Chopp read two letters she received from the Ontario Civilian Police Commission regarding a preliminary investigation they were undertaking prior to Travale stepping down as Board Chair.
Chopp said they were looking at two specific things.
Chopp was contacted not as a Board member but as Mayor of Norfolk County regarding this information.
In the second letter she received, it stated that the preliminary investigation was over due to Travale’s resignation and she felt confident in bringing this information to the board and the public.
A few PSB member showed frustration with the fact that they were not informed of this as it happened, as it directly affected them with Travale being chair of their board, but Chopp reiterated that she was contacted a Mayor and not a Board member.
There was also talk about how the information of this preliminary investigation got out to the public, with Chopp saying she did not inform the media of the details of the report but did let them know it was an avenue to look down after being asked about Travale stepping down as Board Chair.
Board Member Kim Huffman said overall, she just felt that this whole situation was handled wrong.
Travale responded to our request for comment with the following statement:
Because the matter pertained to an “allegation” and the Commission had commenced a “preliminary” review to ascertain the validity of the complaint, and I had not been informed of the complaint PRIOR to my resignation from the Police Services Board, any conversation about the matter is redundant with the sole exception of Ms Chopp’s motivations for informing Monte Sonnenberg (Simcoe Reformer) of the allegation when neither I nor other members of the PSB had been informed.