On April 9th 2024, former internal legal counsel for the Thunder Bay police, Holly Walbourne was arrested by the OPP and charged for actions which they say took place while she was still working for the police force in the northern Ontario city.
There is a connection to Waterloo Region in this story — Walbourne was retained by the Waterloo Region Police Services for her legal services in May 2023. That contract has now been discontinued as of April 12th. Police spokesperson Cherri Greeno wrote to CKMS News that the contract termination was “as a result of allegations that are currently before the courts”.
Waterloo Regional Police did not answer questions about the nature of Walbourne’s work with the force, or if they were aware of the OPP investigation of Walboune when they retained her services.
This show features an interview with Patrick Watson, an assistant professor of criminology at the University of Toronto, who researches policing and police oversight. He explains how communication works between police forces, and why the hiring of Walbourne may have happened despite the issues in Thunder Bay.
