Victoria cop wins drug-rights case
Posted April 23, 2016 10:56 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – A police officer who had been pushing for the legalization of drugs while off-duty has been awarded $20,000 in a human rights case that pitted the officer against his employer, the Victoria Police Department.
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal sided with Constable David Bratzer, saying the force interfered with his rights as a citizen to freely express his views and ordered the award for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect.
Victoria Police Acting Chief Constable Del Manak says in a statement the department accepts the decision, will try to learn from it and an appeal is not planned.
Bratzer filed the complaint against the department, saying it tried on numerous occasions to restrain his off-duty public advocacy for the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
The initial complaint noted police interference where he was directed not to speak at a Federal Green Party event on harm reduction and ordered not to comment to the media on the success of a Washington State marijuana referendum.
Bratzer has been a member of the Victoria Police Department since 2007.
