Windsor, Ont., police chief made racist comments, internal investigation finds

Jason Viau · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

WARNING: This communicative contains violative language.

An interior probe into allegations the constabulary main of Windsor, Ont., made racist remarks to a Black serviceman has recovered the claims to beryllium true, CBC News has learned.

"The probe has substantiated that Chief Jason Bellaire made comment(s) that represent a breach of WPS Directive(s)," according to an interior summary of the investigation.

CBC News obtained, and verified, the confidential papers that summarized the result of a ailment filed by Ed Armstrong, the service's archetypal Black inspector. The summary didn't outline which specific allegations were substantiated.

The summary states "the researcher recovered that the comment(s) were made successful what [Bellaire] believed to beryllium a 'safe space' based connected his existing narration with [Armstrong] and bash not magnitude to a poisoned enactment environment."

When asked successful an email to corroborate whether the allegations against Bellaire were substantiated, Windsor police's firm communications director, Gary Francoeur, said, "The accusation successful your connection is not wholly accurate.

"However, arsenic the substance is inactive earlier the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO), we cannot remark further astatine this time," helium said.

Francoeur refused to clarify what helium meant by "not wholly accurate." 

Human rights study filed past year

CBC News reached retired to some Armstrong and Bellaire and did not person a effect by work time.

Armstrong filed the HRTO complaint past year, saying Bellaire made respective racist remarks to him astatine work.

In those HRTO documents, Armstrong indicated he filed the aforesaid ailment internally. That process concluded successful January, portion the quality rights quality is ongoing.

Armstrong said Bellaire asked him to usage his "Black magic" to easiness disapproval from a section assemblage prof and referred to her arsenic a "Black radical."

He besides stated Bellaire suggested determination is telepathic connection among Black radical and said helium preferred "whiter" things.

Armstrong said that successful a abstracted instance, Bellaire mentioned needing a "Black friend" to travel him to definite events.

In a connection to CBC News past month, Windsor Police Association president Kent Rice said he's "genuinely acrophobic astir however number members consciousness coming into a enactment situation wherever the main has been recovered to marque discriminatory remarks."

"This raises superior questions astir the civilization of the workplace and the connection it sends to those who already look challenges based connected their identity," helium added.

Rice besides rejected the investigator's findings that Bellaire believed it was a "safe space" erstwhile the racist remarks were made.

"[It's] not lone profoundly offensive, but it besides wholly disregards the principles of decency and professionalism that are expected of immoderate person wrong an organization," Rice said.

The probe was completed successful January. On Feb. 5, Bellaire announced helium volition beryllium retiring successful November — halfway done his five-year contract.

Bellaire didn't supply a crushed for his aboriginal retirement.

The probe besides "substantiated" violative comments made toward the Indigenous assemblage by Insp. Jill Lawrence, though it didn't specify what those were.

The Windsor Police Service declined to remark connected that matter, citing the quality rights tribunal proceedings.

Consequences for constabulary main stay unknown

The summary of the third-party probe said the Windsor Police Service Board "will beryllium taking due enactment to code breaches."

However, the committee wouldn't specify what benignant of consequences, if any, Bellaire would face for his actions.

"The Windsor Police Service Board volition marque nary remark connected unit matters regarding a circumstantial employee," said Norma Coleman, administrative manager for the board.

WATCH | Windsor mayor comments connected allegations against the constabulary chief:

In August, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, who stepped speech arsenic constabulary committee seat past month, told CBC News helium wanted to hold for an probe into the allegations to decorativeness "to recognize what is true, what is information from the fiction."

"At the extremity of the day, I don't get excessively fussed astir these types of things until they've gone done a judicial oregon quasi-judicial process similar this 1 will, and erstwhile we get to the extremity we'll beryllium successful a overmuch amended presumption to person an intelligent speech connected the topic."

Dilkens has not responded to CBC's petition for a remark astir the findings of the interior investigation.

The constabulary relation is seeking accountability from the board.

"What I bash find troubling is that the constabulary services committee has been alert of this contented for respective weeks and has yet to code it, either with my rank oregon the public. This deficiency of transparency and enactment is profoundly concerning," Rice said.

The constabulary work did not respond to CBC's petition for a remark connected wherefore Bellaire is retiring early.

Armstrong's quality rights ailment was filed connected March 15, 2024, astir a period aft Armstrong pleaded blameworthy nether the Police Services Act for making inappropriate comments to pistillate employees dating backmost to 2005. Armstrong was demoted for 1 twelvemonth to unit sergeant and volition automatically regain his fertile of inspector aft that time.

Armstrong said successful the HRTO exertion that anterior to that, helium hadn't received immoderate complaints against him successful his 25-year career.

For much stories astir the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to occurrence stories wrong the Black assemblage — cheque out Being Black successful Canada, a CBC task Black Canadians tin beryllium arrogant of. You tin work much stories here.