A former Barrie police officer has filed a civil lawsuit against the city’s police force seeking $2.5 million in damages.
Nicole Hankin, 40, who was charged with fraud by Barrie Police Service (BPS) in 2021 and later had the charges dropped by the Crown in October 2021, filed a 21-page statement of claim on Aug. 9 at the Barrie Superior Court of Justice. She is seeking $2 million in damages for “malicious prosecution and negligent investigation," $500,000 for “aggravated, moral and punitive damages," as well as the costs of the court proceedings.
Hankin was charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000 after an investigation by the local police department’s professional standards unit was ordered by Chief Kimberley Greenwood into what was then deemed “unspecified off-duty allegations” in February 2021, says the statement of claim.
“In what can only be described as a malicious attack on Ms. Hankin and on the erroneous belief that Ms. Hankin was fraudulently earning money from coaching skating while receiving income replacement due to her disability, the BPS, in blatant conflict with its role as Ms. Hankin’s employer, commenced its own criminal investigation on direction of the chief of police," reads the statement of claim. "The criminal investigation stemmed from an internal investigation under the Police Services Act (PSA)… into allegations that Ms. Hankin had improperly held secondary employment and failed to claim income from this employment, while a member of the BPS."
Hankin, who had previously served as a media relations officer with city police under her maiden name of Rodgers, had been absent from active duty since mid-November 2018 and, as a result of the February 2021 charges, was suspended from duty with pay.
In the statement of claim, it notes Hankin had suffered from mental-health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from her time working on the road as a young officer. It also claims she was subjected to harassment and improper treatment in the workplace, which caused her symptoms to worsen and ultimately caused her to be placed on disability leave.
None of the allegations in Hankin’s statement of claim have been tested in court.
A former competitive figure skater at the international level, member of the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame (2010) and prominent skating coach, the statement of claim says Hankin used coaching as a way to cope with her mental-health issues, during which time she made “nominal sums of money.”
According to the statement of claim, Hankin earned $6,898 through coaching at both the Barrie and Lefroy skating clubs in 2018, and incurred $10,405 in expenses, resulting in a net loss of just over $3,500. In 2019, it says she earned $11,993 and had $10,800 in expenses, resulting in a net income of $1,193. The following year, Hankin earned $5,710 in income and spent $7,113, which resulted in a net loss of just over $1,400, while in 2021, she earned $3,682 from coaching and claimed expenses of $723, therefore leaving her with a net income of just shy of $2,960.
While on disability leave, and later while receiving Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) loss-of-earning benefits, Hankin continued to coach skating and Barrie police was aware of this, says the statement of claim.
By doing so, the statement continued, Barrie police never inquired with Hankin about her coaching status or income earnings, and failed to consider readily available information contained in her disability or WSIB insurance file, which “clearly indicated” that she had repeatedly disclosed her coaching.
“The BPS then proceeded to release a media statement online, stating Ms. Hankin had been charged with fraud. This irreparably harmed Ms. Hankin’s reputation, particularly in the city of Barrie where she has resided for nearly the entirety of her life,” the statement of claim says.
Despite the criminal charges being withdrawn by the Crown in October 2021, the statement of claim says Barrie police, in an “escalated effort to continue its attack,” proceeded to widen the scope of its PSA investigation and “increase the seriousness and nature of the charges, by asserting deceit.”
This, the statement continues, has not only left Hankin permanently unable to return to a career in policing, it also "drastically impacted" her family life and took away her “opportunity to coach at the level and capacity that was available to her” prior to the investigation. It claims her mental health has continued to suffer.
The Barrie Police Service's "shocking misconduct and malicious acts warrant exceptional damages based on the malicious prosecution and negligent investigations that it carried out. Ms. Hankin’s life has been drastically impacted, and Ms. Hankin pleads that the BPS must be held liable,” says the claim.
The claim says Hankin began to experience difficulties at work in November 2018 related to her deteriorating mental health, and around mid-November of that year, was sent home after being deemed “unfit for duty due to her emotional and mental state."
“Shockingly, the BPS through its continued PSA investigation of Ms. Hankin… alleged that Ms. Hankin feigned or exaggerated her illness from Nov. 14, 2018 until Nov. 21, 2018 in an effort to avoid reporting for duty,” says the statement of claim, which noted that, although indicators of PTSD were initially noted, the former officer was initially diagnosed with depression and adjustment disorder in March 2019.
Her symptoms, however, continued to progress and Hankin was formally diagnosed with PTSD in February 2020, and later confirmed in July 2020 after she obtained a comprehensive psychiatric assessment, the statement of claim says.
Hankin was placed on a short-term disability leave of absence from Nov. 15, 2018 until May 16, 2019. Due to ongoing disability, she then applied for and was approved for long-term disability benefits as of May 16, 2019.
“Ms. Hankin did not hide the fact that she continued to coach skating. Her coaching efforts were well documented in local media, and the BPS, including Police Chief Kimberly Greenwood, were well aware of Ms. Hankin’s coaching and skating history,” the statement of claim alleges.
It also reports that Barrie police did not previously inform Hankin of its criminal investigation, nor did it inform of her of the charges being laid, adding she learned of the investigation on Dec. 9, 2020 through an online meeting with the owners of the Mariposa School of Skating, after which she was informed she was being permanently removed from the Mariposa program.
“The BPS investigated and interviewed several members of the Barrie community, including the owners of the Mariposa School of Skating. With that, and initially without Ms. Hankin’s knowledge, her reputation and standing in the community began to be irreparably harmed,” the statement of claim says.
The court document also claims that had the force properly carried out its own diligence prior to laying charges, it “unequivocally would have satisfied itself that not only had she not engaged in criminal activity, but had also not engaged in any wrongdoing at all.”
According to the statement of claim, less than three weeks after the Crown withdrew the criminal charges, Barrie police broadened the scope of its PSA investigation to include two new allegations. The first being that she had feigned or exaggerated her illness, and the second that she had committed “deceit” under the PSA by failing to report employment and income information to insurance companies between 2019 and 2021, despite the fact that criminal fraud charges alleging the same conduct had already been dropped.
“On July 13, 2022, the BPS delivered a letter to Ms. Hankin dated July 6, 2022, stating that the chief’s complaint had been substantiated, and that her file would be held in abeyance until she was medically cleared to return to work, at which time the BPS would address the matter, despite the BPS’s knowledge that Ms. Hankin was no longer working as a police officer, was re-employed full-time with the City of Barrie, and was deemed permanently medically unfit to return to policing.”
Through the WSIB's return-to-work program, Hankin now works for the City of Barrie’s Small Business Centre as a consultant, however will never return to policing, says the statement of claim.
Hankin's statement of claim says the Barrie Police Service is liable for “malicious prosecution.”
“In what can only be described as a malicious attack on Ms. Hankin, the charges laid against (her) were undertaken in the absence of reasonable and probable cause. In doing so, the BPS was motivated by malice and for a primary purpose other than that of carrying out the law into effect,” the claim states. “In fact, there was absolutely no justification or requirement to charge Ms. Hankin.”
It also claims Barrie police is further liable for negligent investigation, citing that investigating officers owed her a duty of care, both as representatives of her employer and in their role as investigating officers.
“Regardless of the fact that the charges against Ms. Hankin were withdrawn, Ms. Hankin will never recover from the fact that she was publicly shamed through the BPS’s false allegations, all based on (her) coaching skating. These false allegations will forever overshadow (her), and her reputation will not recover from them,” says the statement of claim. “Ms. Hankin has suffered a loss of dignity and respect, and she has suffered significant mental distress at the hands of the BPS. She has lost her occupation and due to the foregoing events, she has been deemed permanently unfit to ever return to policing.”
Hankin is also requesting that the case be heard in the city of Barrie.
The Barrie Police Services Board has not filed its statement of defence.
A Barrie police spokesperson told BarrieToday they will not be commenting on Hankin's statement of claim.
