Toronto police constable dismissed for misconduct after tweeting about sexual harassment

A Toronto Police Service constable will be fired or must resign in seven days after being found guilty of eight counts of misconduct, according to a police tribunal decision Tuesday.

The rulingby Robin D. McElary-Downer, a retired deputy chief with the South Simcoe Police Service,in the Toronto Police Service disciplinary hearingwas related to Const. Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd's tweets alleging racism and sexual harassment inside the service, her refusal to leave the property of another officer and her refusal to take part in an internal investigation.

Zarabi-Majd did not attend the hearing, saying she was unable due to post-traumatic stress disorder. The tribunal is a quasi-judicial forum where the police investigate allegations of serious breaches of its code of conduct and Police Services Act.

"Taking into consideration the nature and seriousness of the misconduct, a demonstrated inability to reform and the likely damage to the [Toronto Police Service], coupled with all the other factors I contemplated, I find Constable Zarabi-Majd's usefulness as a police officer spent," wrote McElary-Downer in a decision published Tuesday.

The decision comes about three years after Zarabi-Majd told CBC'sThe Fifth Estatethat the Toronto police environment is "so toxic you're just constantly trying to survive." She said she was kissed without her consent and male officers asked her to describe the bodies of female suspects she searched.

WATCH |Zarabi-Majd tells CBC's The Fifth Estate about offensive material she encountered in the workplace:

A 'sexualized environment'

4 years ago

Duration 0:37

Toronto police Const. Effy Zarabi-Majd decided to document the pornographic magazines she found lying around at her workplace in 2018 and used the images as part of her complaint before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Melanie J. Webb, the lawyer who defended Zarabi-Majd, said she and her client will review the decision and consider any viable options for an appeal. Webb said any comment on specific aspects of the decision would be reserved for argument on appeal, if that is pursued.

"This has been a devastating experience for PC Zarabi-Majd," Webb said in an emailed statement.

Officer caused 'irreparable damage' to force: decision

Through her tweets, the constable was intent on destroying the reputation of the police force and that of former police chief James Ramer, who was in the role from 2020 to 2022,McElary-Downer said in her decision.

McElary-Downer wrote that Zarabi-Majd levelled slanderous accusations of patriarchy, discrimination, racism and homophobia that impacted the public's confidence in the chief of police and Mayor John Tory.

She wrote that Zarabi-Majd impliedthe force covered up sexual assaults, protected perpetrators and silenced women, causing "irreparable damage" to the service and its leaders.

Further, Zarabi-Majd refused to help expose officers for alleged misconduct by defying lawful orders to take part in an internal investigation, she wrote.

The constable also posted "horrifically harmful racist and offensive material" on Twitter, which is in violation of the force's standards of conduct, the decision said.

McElary-Downer wrote that she was not suggesting Zarabi-Majd participated in the origin of the material, rather than she wasexposing the misconduct of other police officers.

ButZarabi-Majd "would have known or ought to have known the appropriate course of action was to report the matter through the chain of command," McElary-Downer wrote. "Rather she chose to publicly shame the [Toronto Police Service]."

Actions showed 'personal vendetta': decision

In February 2021, Zarabi-Majd"posted a group chat" allegedlybetween two platoon members where one said "Regent kids" were given a tour of part of a police station. The other was seen replying, "Shouldn't [the tour guide] just stop at the cells and let them know most won't make it past there?"

On Twitter, Zarabi-Majdalso alleged she had been sexually assaulted and that the Toronto police were silencing women with threats and retaliation.

A female officer and another officer complained Zarabi-Majd was sharing information about them in her tweets, according to the decision.

Zarabi-Majd was ordered in writing to stop tweeting about them in 2021. But following that order, she named the specific female officer who she said received "peanuts and a gag order" to stay silent about "violent abuse" from a male officer.

McElary-Downer further wrote Zarabi-Majd was using women to advance her own "personal vendetta" against the force.

Zarabi-Majd also committed misconduct by attempting to get that same female officer to testify at a criminal trial. Zarabi-Majdalso refused to leave the officer's residence after being asked to do so, which amounted to trespassing, McElary-Downer wrote.

McElary-Downer said those actions gave rise to "very serious misconduct."

Zarabi-Majd saw tweets as whistle-blowing: lawyer

Zarabi-Majd's defence lawyer, Webb, said in her arguments that the tweets were an outlet for Zarabi-Majd's emotion and a manifestation of her PTSD and trauma, according to the decision.

In 10 years,Zarabi-Majd had no prior disciplinary record and an exemplary service record, Webb said. Webb said the misconduct must be considered within the context of that record and the fact Zarabi-Majd suffers from PTSD.

Webb said Zarabi-Majd saw her actions on Twitter as a service to the public as a whistle-blower. Webb said Zarabi-Majd would not have been at this point if the harassment, abuse and toxic work environment she experienced was appropriately handled.

Webb also pointed to a report by a doctor who is an expert on trauma. The doctor interviewed Zarabi-Majd, who said she experienced years of sexual harassment and demeaning sexualized conversations with her male colleagues that continued for nearly a decade.

This included male colleagues requesting sex, commenting on her bodyand exposing her to pornographic images, among other things, according to the doctor's report.

Webb also referenced a workplace harassment and discrimination review prepared by Deloitte. In a confidential survey sent to 7,818 members in September 2020, 60 per cent of the 908 respondents had experienced or witnessed harassment or discrimination within the force in the past five years.

PTSD does not explain misconduct: decision

McElary-Downer said the Deloitte report was not helpful for this hearing because it does not provide direct evidence that the force, as Zarabi-Majd's employer, contributed to her misconduct.

She acknowledged police have work to do on sexual harassment, but it should be reported through "appropriate avenues" and not on Twitter.

McElary-Downer said she could not ignore evidence of sexual harassment such as a platoon group text where officers discussed an intimate part of Zarabi-Majd's body.

But she wrote thatdoes not explain Zarabi-Majd's Twitter attacks on people not in that chat, adding thepolice tried to investigate the alleged harassment but she refused to take part.

She concluded the fact that Zarabi-Majd has PTSD does not explain her behaviour or misconduct.