A police officer found to have sexually exploited a female colleague has been dismissed from the Calgary Police Service. The presiding officer at a hearing Wednesday found Mike Oakey made inappropriate sexual advances toward the victim, referred to here as A.A., while she was applying to be a Calgary police officer. The activity continued after she became an officer in 2019. This latest hearing focused on A.A.’s complaint that as Oakey was helping her apply to her dream job, he indicated she owed him sex in exchange. He’s now been fired. The decision considered both the weight of public trust and the length of time over which the offences took place, the presiding officer said Wednesday. Had Oakey returned to duty, public trust would have been further eroded, the presiding officer added. A.A. says she is looking forward to moving past a very challenging process. “This has been the most difficult experience, and there’s been so many days I just wanted to give up and say forget it,” she told CTV News. Oakey was previously demoted in rank for one year for sharing a video of A.A. having sex with him and intimate images of her with fellow officers without her consent. In the presiding officer’s decision at the time, she also acknowledged the video was filmed without A.A.’s knowledge. The presiding officer found Oakey did make inappropriate sexual advances while assisting with her application for future employment at CPS. However, Oakey was cleared of two other misconduct allegations, including applying force to a civilian without their consent and the accusation he touched her sexually without her consent while in a police vehicle. Chief Katie McLellan addressed the dismissal later in the day at a Calgary Police Commission meeting. “I have been very clear what my expectations are regarding inappropriate sexual misconduct; I talk about it every single week in front of all members, so people know there’s no tolerance for that. As I said, there’s no winners in this, and the decision was what it was and what we asked for,” she said. Oakey’s lawyer, Cory Wilson, said his client will appeal. “We don’t believe that (public) trust had been eroded because it’s my client’s position that he didn’t do this,” Wilson said. CPS media relations says Oakey remains off the service and is relieved of duty without pay until the appeal period is over. He could seek to return to duty if an appeal is successful. An appeal would be heard by the Law Enforcement Review Board. A.A. says she hopes her experience helps others and that CPS continues to take accountability for its officers. “I am so thankful that my voice was heard and that I was allowed the opportunity to bring this forward,” she said. With files from Michael Franklin and Alesia Fieldberg
