THUNDER BAY – City police Chief J.P. Levesque has been officially suspended after being charged with a pair of criminal offences earlier this week.
The Thunder Bay Police Services Board met on Thursday and placed the city’s top cop on administrative suspension pending the conclusion of his criminal charges.
Levesque, 53, on Tuesday was charged by the OPP with obstructing justice and breach of trust for allegedly disclosing confidential information about Thunder Bay mayor Keith Hobbs between Dec. 14 and Dec. 22 of last year. The release conditions also bar Levesque from having any contact with Hobbs or his wife Marisa, Deputy Police Chief Sylvie Hauth and any members of the police services board.
The suspension will not allow Levesque to exercise any of the powers vested in him as chief of police, reads a statement from the board released following the meeting.
The OPP began investigating in January after receiving a request from the RCMP to conduct an external, independent and thorough investigation as a result of allegations of criminal wrongdoing, culminating in a five-month investigation.
Levesque was on medical leave at the time the charges were laid.
The charges have not been proven in court.
