OPS sergeant faces discreditable conduct charges for racist social media posts
Posted Oct 23, 2016 9:55 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA–An Ottawa Police sergeant accused of writing racist comments about the death of Inuk artist Annie Pootoogook has been charged under the Police Services Act.
The Ottawa Police Association confirms Sergeant Chris Hrnchiar faces two counts of discreditable conduct.
Pootoogook’s body was found in the Rideau River September 19th: Police at first did not consider her death suspicious, although they were calling for assistance in retracing her steps in her final days.
RELATED: Police continue investigation into Inuk artist’s death
A few days later, comments from a Facebook account under Hrnchiar’s name on an Ottawa Citizen article stated Pootoogook’s death was not connected to missing and murdered Indigenous women, and “much of the aboriginal population in Canada is just satisfied being alcohol or drug abusers.”
The posts have since been deleted.
A hearing is set for November 1st.
Meantime, investigators continue to probe “suspicious elements” of Pootoogook’s death.
