Toronto police seek removal of officer for 'vendetta' against service
The x27;Constable Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd was found guilty of eight counts of insubordination and dishonorable conduct.
Constable Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd's hearing was held in her absence before an administrative tribunal at Toronto Police Headquarters.
The Toronto Police Service on Thursday requested the dismissal of Constable Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd from a sentencing hearing for unprofessional conduct and inflammatory statements. The officer was found guilty in absentia following her disciplinary hearing in December of 8 of 10 charges of insubordination and dishonorable conduct she was facing.
Officer Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd had denounced the behavior of a teammate regarding the muscular arrest of a black man in Toronto in connection with the work. She considered the use of force to be unjustified.
The police officer nevertheless refused to testify before her superiors about her colleague's conduct.
The violent arrest of a black man by the police that officer Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd had witnessed was the trigger in this case.
The apprehended individual, who cannot be identified, faces criminal charges in the Ontario Court of Justice. Constable Zarabi-Majda nevertheless published her name despite a publication ban in this case.
The problems began when the employee uttered obscenities over the phone to the superintendent, who had called her to understand her repeated absences before the internal investigations committee.
The Iranian-born police officer maintains that she subsequently endured years of sexist and racist reprisals for having reported a colleague, to the point of filing a complaint against her service for harassment before the Human Rights Tribunal. the person of Ontario in 2020.
Caution : this text may offend some readers.
Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd was then accused of insubordination and outrageous conduct by her employer in January 2019 over tweets she posted on her Twitter account dubbed Dirty Shades of Blue, which features a photo of x27;she in uniform.
Her controversial early tweets were first sent to a member of the public. She calls the Torontonian a Fuck off loser and a Fuck off clown.
In other equally vulgar tweets, the agent then attacked directly at his service.
Former Toronto Police Chief James Ramer
She for example called former police chief James Ramer a thug, a predator, a womanizer, a coward and a white supremacist for doing nothing about the conduct of his colleague whom she had previously denounced on Twitter.
She also took on the Toronto Police Association, the Toronto Police Services Board and former Mayor John Tory.
Fuck the patriarchy, Toronto Police Service is a fucking bully, Stop silencing women, she tweeted at them numerous times over a six-month period.
Prosecution attorney Noah Schachter claims that the police officer undermined the authority of the police chief in addition to tarnishing his reputation, that of the service and that of his colleagues.
It is important, according to him, to maintain control over the police service to ensure its proper functioning.
Mr. Schachter spoke of the seriousness of the police officer's criticism and compared her actions to a real vendetta against her employer.
Former Mayor John Tory leaving a hearing before the Police Services Board months before his resignation .
The damage she caused to her employer must be considered an aggravating factor, he said, recalling that the employee identified as a police officer in her statements on social networks.
“A clear message needs to be sent to the public that this kind of behavior is unacceptable from all members of the service, who are held to higher standards of professionalism than any other citizen.
—Toronto Police Service lawyer Noah Schachter
Mr Schachter demanded his pure and simple dismissal before the same administrative police tribunal which had already recognized the responsibility of agent Zarabi-Majd.
There is no moreover, according to him, no reason to believe that she could be reinstated in the service. She has lost all credibility to assume her duties, he continues.
The lawsuit alleges Constable Zarabi-Majd tarnished the reputations of the colleagues she named in these vitriolic tweets.
She compromised the integrity of her department, he said, pointing out that she has over 5,000 Twitter followers.
Mr. Schachter says it is essential to maintain public trust in the police force and that anyone within the service must be deterred from engaging in this kind of unsightly behavior.
In its reply, the defense of Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd referred to the fact that his client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The police officer was not present at Thursday's hearing for medical reasons. She has been on sick leave since December 2018.
Constable Zarabi-Majd is now represented by an attorney, which was not the case during the November disciplinary hearing which she did not attend.
Constable Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd did not participate in any disciplinary hearing for health reasons, so a denial of guilt was entered in the register in her place.
Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd had submitted a motion to the court in September 2022 to adjourn his hearing due to illness, but to no avail.
Mtre Schachter had explained on this subject that the state of health of the employee could not excuse either her conduct or her insubordination. She was dishonest throughout this disciplinary process, he said.
Ms. Zarabi-Majd had then requested the services of lawyer Melanie Webb for the hearing on the determination of the sanction.
Ms. Melanie Webb affirms, medical report to support, that his client's medical condition is the cause of her behavior on social networks.
Agent Zarabi-Majd's “Dirty Shades of Blue” account can now not be found on Twitter.
The lawyer explains that the sexual harassment and racism of which she paid the price for years within her police station had an undeniable impact on her mental health.
“A promising police officer who account of almost 10 years of career does not get up one morning to create a Twitter account to pour out his gall and create mayhem. »
— Defense attorney Melanie Webb
Me Webb cites incidents of a sexual nature that her client witnessed at work from her male colleagues.
It includes degrading remarks about women, dirty jokes and sexual advances.
Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd is not the first officer to speak out against sexist and racist behavior within the Toronto Police Service.
In the psychiatric report, Constable Zarabi-Majd speaks of a toxic work atmosphere and adds that her superiors did absolutely nothing to change the situation.
Mr. Webb mentions, however, that his client's performance at work was the subject of three very positive evaluations from her superiors in 2014, 2017 and 2018.
The human resources reports even point out that she was a good candidate for the position of detective thanks to her professional, organizational and communication skills.
We can read there in particular that the Constable Zarabi-Majd exceeded all of her superiors' expectations of her work.
Her colleagues describe her as a calm and responsible police officer endowed with good judgment, and with whom it is pleasant to work.
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario is located in this downtown building in Toronto.
Mr. Webb adds that his client has already admitted that she used vulgar and inappropriate language in her public statements.
She explains that the agent used the Twitter platform to denounce unacceptable behavior in the workplace.
She is x27;y is certainly very badly taken, but she was in crisis and no one offered her help, she continues.
The lawyer further submits that a dismissal is too severe a sanction and disproportionate to the alleged facts given the medical circumstances.
My client is a victim and survivor of sexual harassment in the workplace, she says, even though the Human Rights Tribunal has yet to rule on her. decision on this matter.
The Toronto Police Association assures that it will defend all of its members fairly
Me Webb submits that his client cannot be sanctioned for having exposed poisoned working conditions. She must not, however, enjoy any preferential treatment for her statements, she concludes.
Retired police superintendent Robin McElary-Downer, who is presiding over the hearings , has reserved judgment until an indefinite date.
