Ottawa Police Association (OPA) President Matt Skof is in hot water again over another audio recording which the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) is calling, "offensive, reprehensible and unacceptable under any circumstance."
Back in 2018, the OPS asked that the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) investigate a series of recordings, some of them released on social media, which contained confidential information. The OPP conducted a full investigation which resulted in breach of trust and obstruct justice charges.
The OPS says a Professional Standard Section (PSS) investigation has also been launched, but has to wait until the OPP investigation and criminal prosecution has wrapped up.
On Friday, June 19, the OPS says it was sent another recording that was posted on social media, allegedly involving Skof, featuring sexist language.
The Justice for Abdirahman Coalition and its partners are calling for the immediate resignation and termination of Matt Skof, President of the Ottawa Police Association for his alleged misogynistic comments to a female member of the Coalition. https://t.co/xw59FkDZxN
— JusticeForAbdirahman (@J4Abdirahman) June 19, 2020
The OPP told the OPS it was already aware of the recording, but it will not contribute to the evidence in relation to the charges.
When asked if it was his voice on the recording, Skof provided qihanghengrui.com with the following statement:
"As this alleged discussion may involve OPA staff and rental contracts, there is no comment. The OPA operates as an independent entity from the Ottawa Police Service."
The Ottawa police's PSS investigation is expected to review all related recordings to determine whether there have been any violations of the Police Services Act or OPS policy.
Police have reached out to a community member referred to in the recording, to ensure they are aware of the information and to offer support.