Lethbridge Police Service Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh cleared of misconduct allegations
Lethbridge's police chief was found not guilty Monday of two misconduct charges he faced over a lunch meeting he had with the service's chaplain more than four years ago.
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Lethbridge Police Service Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh had been accused of two counts of misconduct, for violating a public health order by taking a member of the public out for lunch in March 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for denying he had done anything wrong when confronted about it.
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They had soup during a 20- to 30-minute lunch, a regular thank-you gesture from Mehdizadeh for the volunteer's work with Lethbridge police. They were masked and appropriately distanced, said Lethbridge's police chief.
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Mehdizadeh had believed the chaplain was part of his cohort, but during a meeting several days later with senior management, Lethbridge's police chief said he learned he was wrong and apologized to senior officers, including Woods.
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On Monday, presiding officer Brett Carlson concluded that, on a balance of probabilities, the allegations against Mehdizadeh were not proven and found him not guilty.
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Carlson determined the LPS chief did not intend to breach the public health order, provided an apology and the conduct was not repeated.
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'There was no evidence of malicious intent or meaningful moral culpability,' he said. 'A moment of carelessness or error in judgment does not, by itself, constitute discreditable conduct requiring discipline.'
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'I find that a dispassionate, reasonable person, fully apprised of the circumstances would conclude that the Chief did not do anything prejudicial to discipline or likely to bring discredit on the reputation of the police service.'
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