An Edmonton city councillor says the Edmonton Police Association filed a complaint against him due to his criticism of the city’s police service..Ward papastew councillor Michael Janz said Monday the complaint was directed to the municipal ethics commissioner and was at least partially based on “24 social media posts liking and retweeting known critics of the police service.”.Janz found out about the Council Code of Conduct complaint, which he called “retaliatory” January 10 from a Global News reporter. The ethics commissioner has since dismissed the complaint..“Not only do I find it unusual there are resources being put towards monitoring an elected official’s social media, it is of great concern that our municipal police union sought a reprimand,” said Janz..“I feel this was a blatant attempt at intimidation intended to silence an elected official in their first three months in office. “.Janz has been a vocal critic about the Edmonton Police Service’s conduct and spending. More recently, he criticized how the police are handling the trucker convoy protests in the city..He likened the complaint to incidents in 2005 “when police officers targeted the Chair of the Police Commission Martin Ignasiak and an EdmontonSun journalist Kerry Diotte in the overtime scandal.”.From his podium outside of the city hall, Janz insisted “this is not about me, this is about democracy..“I will continue to ask tough questions about their expenditures, misconduct, and commitment to anti-racism — just as I was elected to do.”.Janz has requested an apology from the Edmonton Police Association, and hopes the association’s actions are denounced by the Edmonton Police Commission and Chief Dale McFee..Amber Gosselin is a Western Standard reporter..agosselin@westernstandardonline.com
An Edmonton city councillor says the Edmonton Police Association filed a complaint against him due to his criticism of the city’s police service..Ward papastew councillor Michael Janz said Monday the complaint was directed to the municipal ethics commissioner and was at least partially based on “24 social media posts liking and retweeting known critics of the police service.”.Janz found out about the Council Code of Conduct complaint, which he called “retaliatory” January 10 from a Global News reporter. The ethics commissioner has since dismissed the complaint..“Not only do I find it unusual there are resources being put towards monitoring an elected official’s social media, it is of great concern that our municipal police union sought a reprimand,” said Janz..“I feel this was a blatant attempt at intimidation intended to silence an elected official in their first three months in office. “.Janz has been a vocal critic about the Edmonton Police Service’s conduct and spending. More recently, he criticized how the police are handling the trucker convoy protests in the city..He likened the complaint to incidents in 2005 “when police officers targeted the Chair of the Police Commission Martin Ignasiak and an EdmontonSun journalist Kerry Diotte in the overtime scandal.”.From his podium outside of the city hall, Janz insisted “this is not about me, this is about democracy..“I will continue to ask tough questions about their expenditures, misconduct, and commitment to anti-racism — just as I was elected to do.”.Janz has requested an apology from the Edmonton Police Association, and hopes the association’s actions are denounced by the Edmonton Police Commission and Chief Dale McFee..Amber Gosselin is a Western Standard reporter..agosselin@westernstandardonline.com
