A tribunal hearing has found that a high-ranking Toronto Police Service (TPS) officer is guilty of two professional misconduct charges.
The case involving Insp. Joyce Schertzer stems from a 2022 car crash involving her nephew, identified by the court as “Calvin.” It happened just outside The Boulevard Club on Lake Shore Boulevard West.
Insp. Schertzer was working at 11 Division on May 1, 2022, the day of the accident. She received a phone call from her daughter telling her that Calvin crashed his pick-up truck into a utility pole.
Insp. Schertzer arranged for a TPS officer from her division, Const. Braden Doherty, be dispatched to 14 Division, where the incident happened. She also attended the scene, circumventing the usual priority system.
Insp. Schertzer’s nephew was cleared to leave the scene roughly 10 minutes after the officer from her unit arrived, and he determined that no criminality had occurred.
Toronto police officer heavily involved in nephew’s case, disciplinary hearing finds
The tribunal heard that Insp. Schertzer became actively implicated in the investigation. She testified that she did not visit the scene of the crash to interfere but to make sure her nephew wasn’t injured.
In the 63-page document outlining the decision, retired Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Superintendent Lisa Taylor, who presided over the hearing, wrote, “I find a fully informed citizen would be shocked when considering the actions and inactions of Insp. Schertzer.”
“I find that, although the ‘end result’ may not have been to the ‘benefit’ of Insp. Schertzer’s family, there was a benefit considering the call did not go through the priority system as would be expected, and an 11 Division officer under her command responded quickly to a ‘property damage’ collision within the 14 Division.”
Insp. Schertzer has been found guilty of one count each of discreditable conduct and neglect of duty but not guilty of a second count of neglect of duty under Ontario’s Police Services Act.
A penalty hearing for the case is scheduled for Oct. 28, 2024.