LPS Sgt. found not guilty of discreditable conduct in “meme gate” investigation

Feb 23, 2022 | 12:49 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The matters for a group of Lethbridge Police officers in an investigation into their conduct continue.

At a hearing Wednesday, it was ruled that a sergeant at the service was not guilty of one count of misconduct, although he had previously plead guilty to five counts of misconduct.

This is in regards to what has been referred to as “meme gate,” where, in 2018, five members used a private group chat to share offensive texts and memes with each other.

“The communications, which were found to be offensive and against LPS policies, targeted the LPS Executive, other officers and society in general,” reads a statement from LPS. The memes were described by LPS as “profane, abusive, and insulting.”

The five officers were charged with misconduct under the Alberta Police Act and Police Service Regulation.

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Matters have already been concluded for the four other officers involved. Two Constables, who pleaded guilty to two counts of discreditable conduct and one count each of insubordination and neglect of duty in November 2021, were demoted within rank by two grades for one year. Two additional Constables resigned in November 2021.

Following this week’s verdict, the matter has been adjourned to March 25. At that time, sanction arguments for all five of the proven counts for the sergeant will be heard.

LPS said in a media release that they will not be providing any further comments at this time.

by David Opinko