BusTalk

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By JON WILLING

An issue over a suspect's mouth "grill" has so far been the only written complaint lodged against OC Transpo special constables during their first year on the beat.

The complaint was investigated and determined to be unfounded, said chief transit special constable Kimberly Weston-Martin.

Weston-Martin said that in the sole complaint, a man was arrested for an alleged offence and then claimed a special constable had something to do with his tooth jewelry going missing.

The suspect was invited to write a complaint after he expressed concern about the whereabouts of his mouth grill.

The special constables will have been on the job one year as of April 1.


TICKET DISPUTES

Weston-Martin said complaints come across her desk and she, or an assigned officer, investigates.

Criminal allegations against special constables would be probed by Ottawa police.

While the transit constables are considered "peace officers" under the provincial Police Services Act, they are not subject to disciplinary charges under the legislation, Weston-Martin said.

Weston-Martin said there are people who call daily with beefs about tickets, but she noted those concerns can be dealt with by the justices of the peace.

The transit website will soon detail the steps people can follow to lodge a formal complaint against special constables, Weston-Martin said.

While the year's written complaints have been next to none, some people, like Ken Loewen, have publicly aired beefs about transit officers.

Loewen, who told his story to the Sun recently, feels we was wrongfully given a provincial offences ticket last week for being drunk in a public place. He also questions how a piece of jewelry went missing during his dealings with special constables.

The city still declined to comment yesterday, sticking with the original remarks made by transit director Alain Mercier, who said it would be inappropriate to comment because the ticket is before the courts.