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Chantal Muirhead, 33, and husband Dameian Muirhead, 34, right, are York Regional Police officers members of the Toronto Guardians, a fraternity of law enforcers and correctional workers. The Muirheads are both going through battles with the service over alleged discrimination and harassment. Keith Hassell of the Guardians is on the left, and lawyer Osborne Barnwell is at rear centre.VIEW 2 PHOTOSzoom JIM RANKIN / TORONTO STAR Order this photo Chantal Muirhead, 33, and husband Dameian Muirhead, 34, right, are York Regional Police officers members of the Toronto Guardians, a fraternity of law enforcers and correctional workers. The Muirheads are both going through battles with the service over alleged discrimination and harassment. Keith Hassell of the Guardians is on the left, and lawyer Osborne Barnwell is at rear centre. By: Jim Rankin Feature reporter, Published on Sun Oct 12 2014 Imagine a boss who suspects you are using sick time for play time and can pick up the phone and track your comings and goings across international borders. Chantal Muirhead, a York Regional Police constable, had such a boss, in the form of a sergeant, according to a report commissioned by the police. The sergeant’s hunch that Muirhead was using sick time to travel to a vacation property would eventually be proven wrong, but not before the sergeant had badmouthed Muirhead behind her back, mocked her childless marriage and sparked an internal email chain that involved more than a dozen senior officers, according to a recent workplace harassment report into the whole affair, which Muirhead has shared with the Star. “This has damaged me,” Muirhead said in an interview. “The report clearly states it has damaged my career, damaged my reputation.” The sergeant’s unofficial probe into her personal affairs happened at the same time her husband — Dameian Muirhead, also a York Region constable — was fighting internal misconduct allegations of his own. Though there is no proof, the Muirheads believe Chantal is the victim of a reprisal for her husband’s fight to clear his name in a racially charged case in which the Muirheads went on to sue the service earlier this year. “This all happened to me, I believe, simply because I am married to Dameian,” said Muirhead. In Chantal’s case, the Muirheads would like to see the sergeant disciplined under the Police Services Act and would like to know who among the couple’s supervisors were part of email chains prompted by the sergeant’s “informal” investigation. A 14-page workplace harassment report prepared by an investigator, working for a private company hired by the service to look into Chantal’s complaint, identifies dozens of witness officers only as letters of the alphabet. The findings were damning. An accompanying letter to Chantal from York Deputy Chief Andre Crawford, dated Aug. 8, states that a police harassment review committee agrees that harassment had indeed taken place and recommends mediation between Chantal and the sergeant. The Muirheads believe that’s improper and impossible without knowing who all the players are. There is also the concern that the superior officers on the emails might have developed a negative opinion of the two. “Any one of those individuals could be my boss and might have this perception about me and my wife and that’s not fair,” Dameian told the Star in an interview. Chantal has sought answers from the Canada Border Services Agency about how and from whom her private travel information was accessed. So far, that part of the story remains a mystery. It’s unclear what action York Region police will take. The service did not answer Star questions about the specifics, citing confidentiality issues, and it did not address a general question about what the service has done in regards to unofficial police queries of official bodies, such as the CBSA. In response to the Star’s queries, legal counsel for the service did say workplace harassment cases can lead to discipline under the Police Services Act. “We do not treat workplace harassment and discipline as an either/or proposition,” wrote Jason Fraser. “Rather, once a workplace harassment investigation has been completed, the matter may be referred for discipline if there are reasonable grounds to believe that a member has engaged in misconduct.” After what seemed to the Muirheads like a period of inaction by York police on the harassment report, they decided to go public with the story of how Chantal came to be harassed. They are backed by the Toronto Guardians, a fraternity of law enforcement officers that offers a legal support program and is looking to expand its membership to all civil servants. The Muirheads have also joined the group. Dameian’s troubles Chantal, 33, met Dameian Muirhead, 34, on the job and in 2007 they married. In an interview, the two recalled how they, as black officers, were often out in the community on the service’s behalf. Dameian said he would speak about the job and encouraged young black people to consider a police career. The community engagement work stopped after Dameian was charged internally over the handling of a May 2011, call to a bush party that involved domestic violence allegations. During the encounter, someone remarked that he would “love to see” Muirhead “hanging from a tree.” Muirhead had a later encounter with one of the men from the bush party, which led to an arrest and a public complaint against Muirhead. He was charged internally. A racially charged public hearing ensued. In January 2014, the service announced it had dropped the internal case against Dameian. At the time, police Chief Eric Joliffe said media reports that Dameian had been charged because he failed to investigate racial insults made about him were inaccurate. In a statement, Joliffe said the service had tried to resolve the case with no permanent scar on Dameian’s record. Instead, there was a public, high-profile police tribunal disciplinary hearing. Joliffe, in his statement, said the service had to remain silent while it “endured a series of baseless accusations and attempts to tarnish the exemplary record” the service had on “racial and cultural inclusivity.” The Muirheads are suing the service over the handling of the public complaint, alleging a “negligent and malicious investigation,” and are seeking $15 million in compensation and damages. In a statement of defence, the service denies the investigation was negligent and contends that if any damage was caused to Dameian, it was his fault. A miscarriage Back in 2012, before the claims and counterclaims, Dameian was facing disciplinary action stemming from the bush party incident and the situation was causing the couple stress. Chantal had suffered a miscarriage, which the two believe was caused in part by the stress. In May, after a stint as a school resource officer, Chantal returned to her regular platoon at a York police division in Vaughan, where her immediate supervisor was Sgt. Laurie Perks. Chantal was using more of her sick time. While other superiors were supportive of Chantal’s issues, the harassment report notes there was no evidence Perks, who is referred to only as the respondent, was aware of Chantal’s personal problems, or if she was aware, that she took them into consideration. The report notes that Perks took her “management responsibilities seriously” and had high performance expectations for her officers. Telephone call On June 27, 2012, Perks was overheard in her office on the phone, talking to another supervisor about Chantal — a conversation Chantal would, among other things, complain about to Chief Joliffe. Chantal, quoting an unnamed colleague who had heard the call, alleged in her complaint Perks referred to her as a “f---ing bitch” who had trouble completing a single call over a shift, suggested she’d had an affair and questioned why she was with her husband, since “they don’t even have any kids.” The harassment investigator, while not addressing what was specifically said, would later find that Perks had engaged in “name-calling” using profanity, made “derogatory” comments about Chantal’s work performance, spread “malicious” rumours about her personal life and did so with another supervisor in a “non-private” setting. “Although there is no evidence that the comments were made on a repeated basis, they are sufficiently serious, unwelcome and offensive as a single incident,” wrote Heather Swartz, an investigator with Agree Inc. Perks, who was copied on the Star’s queries to the service and offered an opportunity to respond, did not do so, which is not unusual in cases where officers are facing possible discipline. A hunch Chantal had called in sick on the day of the phone call and was off again July 2 and July 3. Perks made inquiries and learned Dameian had booked off those same days. Perks also knew the Muirheads had property in Jamaica. The investigator found that, based on a suspicion that Chantal had used sick time to travel to Jamaica, Perks, informally contacted Pearson airport and the Canada Border Services Agency. Evidence indicated Perks was “provided with information from CBSA indicating that (Chantal) crossed the border from the United States into Canada on June 30,” wrote Swartz. Based on that, Perks “made an assumption about (Chantal’s) travel destination and the purpose of her travel.” The investigator found Perks would later report “incorrect information” to management that Chantal had returned on a flight from Jamaica on June 30. This information sparked a “potential disciplinary meeting” with Chantal in December 2012, which went nowhere. What Chantal says she had done was make a land crossing into New York state on June 29, and returned to Canada by land the next day. She was visiting a nephew, she explained to the Star. The two were indeed taking overlapping sick days at the time, says Chantal. “We took days off to support each other through the dark times we were going through,” said Chantal. The breach After learning of Perks’ investigation, Chantal launched an internal complaint with York police, alleging a breach of privacy and outlining the contents of overheard phone call. She also complained to the CBSA and demanded answers as to how her travel information was obtained. After an internal investigation by CBSA professional standards, it remains unclear how and from whom at CBSA Perks learned that Chantal had re-entered the country on June 30. Whatever search was done, it could not have indicated she had returned on a flight from Jamaica, since she came back into Canada by land. The outcome The workplace and harassment investigator submitted her report and findings to York police July 14, 2014. On Aug. 8, the service forwarded to Chantal the report and a cover letter, which stated that the service’s harassment review committee agreed with the findings — that harassment had indeed taken place. The letter contained recommendations that Chantal and Perks — now a detective — “engage in mediation” and that Perks be “dealt with in an appropriate manner to address the conduct which was inconsistent with” service values. Chantal says she worries about police overstepping their authority in making unofficial inquiries of official bodies such as the CBSA. If it could happen to her, she says, it could happen to anybody. “The fact that this supervisor went this far just to try and dig up some dirt, what about the Average Joe out there?” she asked. More on thestar.com Trading work for sleep, hurts health More bodies found as AirAsia search continues More bodies found as AirAsia search contin... When 'woe is me' becomes 'wow is me' Icy conditions likely led to AirAsia crash, govt. agency says Icy conditions likely led to AirAsia crash, govt.... 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