While he was helping solve homicide and sexual assault cases, investigating gangs and gathering intelligence on drug rings — racking up a long list of awards and commendations for all the work — one of the first Peel police officers of South Asian descent endured a constant barrage of racist taunts within the force, as his career stalled largely because of all his success, a Human Rights Tribunal hearing heard Monday.

The two disturbingly contrasting experiences with Peel Regional Police began almost immediately for Staff Sgt. Baljiwan (B.J.) Sandhu, he testified Monday, as full hearings began to address his complaint of being discriminated against in 2013 when he was not considered for a promotion.

Sandhu, who joined the force in 1989, said that during his training, a supervisor in the force’s communications bureau explained to new recruits what his group did.

On their first week they were told communications was currently done by “Peel police officers,” Sandhu testified. Then the supervisor said, “’Pretty soon you will see that women and Pakis will be managing those duties.’ As if he hadn’t even seen me in that room.”

Later the same week, when Sandhu walked into a gym, one of the officers yelled out, “ ‘Hey, no one called a cab.’ The whole room, more than 100 officers sitting on bleachers, were sitting there laughing at me,” Sandhu said, adding that it was “humiliating” and “embarrassing.”

He told of how senior officers and peers routinely called him “Gunga Din,” “Gandhi” and other terms meant to embarrass him, with supervisors, other than on one occasion, blowing off Sandhu’s requests to have the chronic behaviour addressed. It continued, with racist cartoons of him and pictures being openly sent to Sandhu or pinned up on his supervisor’s office wall, he said.

Glenn Christie, the lawyer representing Peel police in the human rights complaint, tried unsuccessfully to prevent Sandhu from presenting evidence on his historic treatment, arguing it was not relevant to his failed promotion effort in 2013, the subject of the hearings. Tribunal vice-chair Bruce Best ruled it was relevant, agreeing with Sandhu’s lawyer, Kelley Bryan, who argued that the historic evidence helped establish “an embedded discriminatory attitude” that was allegedly prevalent throughout the force.

Meanwhile, the tribunal heard that almost as soon as the taunts and discrimination began, while other new hires were still being assessed, Sandhu was being seconded to help with a range of complex cases because of his South Asian language skills — he speaks Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu — cultural knowledge and extensive contacts, as the South Asian community began to explode in Brampton and Mississauga.

Sandhu read from internal commendation letters outlining how his police work was instrumental in a number of solved cases, including a double-murder investigation, which he travelled to England for, another homicide and the arrest of a sexual-assault suspect after the force’s criminal investigations bureau could not find the man. He detailed interview techniques and cultural awareness that he said he often used to help solve cases.

A long list of awards, many recommended by Peel police, was also highlighted, including one for humanitarian of the year and the prestigious Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal awarded to Sandhu in 2012 for his outstanding contribution to policing and community safety.

But as early as 1995, Sandhu said that while all of the police work was giving him incredible experience — in homicide, intelligence, gang and drug units — and public exposure, he was being pigeon holed as a “South Asian” officer who was to deal with the rapidly growing “South Asian” community.

He read from a 1995 supervisor’s note, that stated Sandhu was being “over used” by the force because of his expertise. It was in response to Sandhu’s request for broader experience to advance his career. He testified that he was being told by supervisors to instead help the force deal with the growing number of issues in the South Asian community, as Peel police struggled to keep pace with the dramatic demographic shift. He was eventually promoted to sergeant and then in 2009 to staff sergeant.

But after agreeing not to apply for another promotion a few years later, Sandhu alleges he was discriminated against when he tried to break into the “senior officer” ranks in 2013, when he sought a position as an inspector.

At the time, none of Peel police’s 55 senior uniform officers, those above the position of staff sergeant, were South Asians. This despite the fact that 80 to 85 of the force’s total number of 2,000 uniform officers were South Asian, less than 5 per cent, even though they made up 43 per cent of Brampton’s and Mississauga’s population, Sandhu testified.

By 2009 he was eventually reporting directly to the top boss, at former chief Mike Metcalf’s request. Quoting a 2011 magazine article that highlighted Canada’s three most “influential South Asians” of the generation, including Sandhu, Bryan asked him about one of the other names featured in the article.

“Harjit Singh Sajjan, is that our new minister of defence?”

“Yes,” Sandhu responded.

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Christie, acknowledged that Sandhu received a “glowing” appraisal by his supervisor when he tried to get a recommendation for the promotion in 2013, but did not explain why Sandhu was prevented from even being considered.

The hearing heard that despite being tapped by the force numerous times to work as an “acting inspector,” racking up 872 hours in that role, Sandhu was one of only two applicants, out of 33, who was not considered for promotion to eight inspector positions filled in 2013.

The hearing stage of the tribunal has been delayed since June, when Peel police objected to releasing the application packages of all those candidates who were considered for the promotion. Last month the tribunal ordered the documents released and they will be addressed later in the hearing process.