Disciplinary hearing held for Lethbridge police chief [Video]

Over four years ago, the chief of police in Lethbridge went for lunch with a volunteer police chaplain. However, as it was during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, eyebrows were raised.

Shahin Mehdizadeh joined the Lethbridge Police Service as chief in 2020, but in March of the following year, it is alleged he broke Alberta’s public health order by eating at a public location with a non-household member.

The allegations came from the former deputy chief of police, and briefly interim chief of police, Scott Woods.

In January 2022, he accused Mehdizadeh of 16 total counts and the Edmonton Police Service was directed to investigate.

The EPS investigation determined 10 allegations were either time-barred under the Police Act or the complainant, Woods, did not have standing to make a complaint.

The Lethbridge Police Commission dismissed the other six allegations as “frivolous and vexatious and lacking an evidentiary basis.”

However, in 2023, Woods appealed to the …