Brian Gateley in 2015. A BC police officer accused of interfering with an investigation into a 2016 Lake Country death is facing discipline for sending a letter to the dead woman’s sister. In a press release issued Thursday, the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner announced that it has ordered a review of the findings of a disciplinary proceeding regarding the “trustworthy conduct” of Sgt. Brian Gateley, who now works for BC’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. Gateley’s disciplinary proceedings stem from allegations that in February 2021, he “contacted a witness and a relative of a deceased person in the context of a major police investigation and in breach of instructions given to him by supervisors”. Debbie Hennig says the disciplinary action stems from a letter Gateley wrote to her on February 17, 2021. Hennig’s sister, Arlene Westervelt, died in June 2016 when the canoe she and her husband Bert were in capsized on Okanagan Lake near Lake Country. While police initially ruled her death a tragic accident, Bert Westervelt was charged with second-degree murder nearly three years later. However, in July 2020, the Prosecutor’s Office of the PK stuck to the charge, saying only that it had “new evidence” in the case. Hennig has filed a lawsuit against Gateley, accusing him of interfering with the investigation into her sister’s death by trying to “shut down” the homicide investigation in the case. Gateley and Bert Westervelt had a personal relationship before Arlene’s death. Hennig says the gist of Gately’s letter to her was that he wanted her to know that he and Burt were not close friends, but mere acquaintances. “He’s distancing himself, that’s not true at all,” Hennig said. “They have a relationship that goes way back. They’re friends, they’re friends.” The Police Complaints Commissioner’s recent announcement states that Gateley was told by his superiors in December 2020 not to have any contact with witnesses in the investigation, which was being conducted by another agency. However, he sent the letter to Hennig. After an investigation by the Vancouver Police Department, Gately was given a one-day suspension for his disparaging behaviour, but the Police Complaints Commissioner found that this punishment did not reflect the “seriousness of the circumstances”. As a result, retired District Court Judge James Threlfall will preside as a review judge in the case and determine the appropriate disciplinary action. “The low level of disciplinary and corrective measures proposed by the Disciplinary Authority is not proportionate to the seriousness of the misconduct in all the circumstances, including the planned and premeditated decision to ignore the instructions of his superiors in the context of his experience and the serious circumstances of his matter,” wrote Clayton Pecknold, police complaints commissioner. Hennig says the disciplinary action is “small potatoes” compared to the allegations she says Gateley faced in an internal code of conduct investigation in 2017. “Allegation one was that he provided his personal opinion to investigators, therefore interfering with a homicide investigation, and allegation number two is where he instructed another member to gain access to the Cellebrite machine without a warrant to unlock a cell phone for personal use.” , Hennig said. says. “These are far more serious violations than writing me a letter.” Hennig says Gateley retired from the RCMP in March 2019 before the initial code of conduct investigation was completed and was subsequently rehired by the CFSEU. “He retired a hero with full pomp and ceremony walking away with his pension. He opened the front door a hero and immediately walked through the back door into another position of trust,” Hennig said. But in Gateley’s response to the civil suit, Gateley says a 2018 review of the ethics code found there was a perception of a conflict of interest in the matter, but no actual conflict of interest was found. He also admits to helping Bert unlock Arlene’s personal cell phone after her death, but says he was trying to help retrieve Arlene’s photos to be used at her funeral. “In December 2017, the Chief Superintendent … was sure that the Minister Gateley’s actions had not affected the evidence available from the phone and that there was no evidence Supt. Gateley obstructed the final investigation of Bert,” Gateley claims in his response to the lawsuit. Police Complaints Commissioner Pecknold ruled that a public hearing into the review of Gateley’s recent disciplinary action was “not necessary”. “A public hearing is not required to maintain or restore public confidence in the investigation of misconduct and the administration of police discipline,” Pecknold writes. Instead, a “document review” was ordered, where a retired judge conducts a “paper review” of the matter. No schedule has been scheduled for the review. Don Matheson, a retired Mountie, announced earlier this month that he is trying to bring a private prosecution to criminally charge Bert Westervelt with his wife’s murder. While in general criminal charges are brought by the Prosecutor’s Office of BC. in BC, and the police in some other provinces, private individuals can attempt to lay criminal charges against someone if they believe a criminal offense has been committed. Meanwhile, Hennig says her civil case against Gateley remains ongoing.
