The Espanola Police Board has suspended the local police chief.
In a press release, Board chair, Mary Lou Mick, says Espanola Police Chief Steven Edwards has been suspended with pay under Section 77 (4) of the Ontario Police Act.
Mick told The Moose that the suspension came about as the result of an internal investigation into the Code of Conduct as written into the law.
However, due to legal reasons, the specifics cannot be released to the public at this time.
Mick added in the best interest of the citizens of Espanola, an interim Police Chief, Sgt. William Lamour, has been assigned.
However, he is only temporary and since the Town of Espanola is in the costing out process of looking at changing over to OPP, the local Espanola detachment was not asked for their assistance to ensure the integrity of the investigation and to avoid any conflict of interest.
Mick says several agencies are involved in the investigation including the Ontario Police Commission.
She says the board is in consultation with legal counsel and the decision on releasing any further information will be made in the near future.
Edwards worked his way up the ranks and was appointed Chief of Espanola Police in January, 2015
