Two high-ranking Durham police officials have been accused of harassment for allegedly mocking officers’ appearances, ridiculing their personal lives and, in one case, gloating about penis size at staff meetings.

The police force has refused to comment on what a spokesperson called “internal personnel matters.”

A Star investigation has identified the two senior officials as Rob Wallington, a civilian who managed the Durham police’s strategic planning unit, and Insp. Nick Lisi, who runs a division of 150 officers that patrols Pickering and Ajax.

Wallington, currently on leave, said he could not comment as the allegations are the focus of a labour grievance that’s before arbitration. Lisi said the allegations against him are untrue.

Durham police has substantiated parts of the harassment complaints against both men, according to documents reviewed by the Star, but the exact findings from the internal investigations remain under wraps. Some of the allegations against Lisi were deemed to be embellished and false, according to a memo to a complainant written by one of Durham’s deputy chiefs.

The alleged incidents of harassment — and their fallout — are the latest controversy for a police service riven by dysfunction.

Durham police came under fire this fall over its handling of an alleged assault of a Black teenager by an off-duty Toronto cop in Whitby, prompting Durham’s chief to announce a new policy to make sure Ontario’s police watchdog is called in to investigate serious injuries caused by an officer in his region, regardless of whether the cop was from Durham or off-duty.

Two Durham officers were arrested in September for their alleged involvement in a drug ring working out of an Ajax bar. Another Durham constable co-owned an unlicensed medical marijuana dispensary that offered illegal products on its website.

Durham’s police chief has now hired a retired deputy chief to probe “respect in the workplace” problems within the service. Meanwhile, the force is investigating two police union executives for allegedly making false statements as part of a union grievance against the force for its handling of harassment complaints, according to a Durham police association email to its members.

The union email said the allegations stem from more than 30 pages it gave to the police service detailing “harassment and wrongdoing” at the hands of a senior officer.

“There is a cultural problem within the Durham Regional Police Service that has resulted in the harassment of association members by senior officers,” Durham police association president Randy Henning, one of the union leaders under investigation, said in a statement to the Star.

The union has accused the police service of failing to adequately investigate rank-and-file officers’ complaints and not taking the necessary steps to protect employees from harassment.

A Durham police spokesperson said the service investigates every allegation of improper conduct in the workplace.

“Inappropriate behaviour from any employee will not be tolerated and we are committed to an open, professional and equitable workplace,” spokesman Dave Selby said.

In a force-wide email, Durham police Chief Paul Martin said a recent investigation “clearly identified misconduct on the part” of a senior officer.

Martin’s email does not name the officer, but three Durham police sources say it is in reference to Wallington.

“I am the guardian of our reputation as a police service. I cannot and will not allow a shadow to remain over it,” Martin said in the Oct. 24 email.

Martin’s email said he expects the retired deputy chief’s review to be completed later this month. The police chief told his officers that he will give them “a full account” of its findings “while respecting the limits imposed by respect for privacy and law.”

“It is by being open and confident about our values and our conduct that we maintain the trust of our community — especially at times when questions have been raised,” Martin said in his email.

Martin would not be interviewed for this article. In a statement, a Durham police spokesperson said the chief’s email was “not a public document.”

The complaints of harassment against Wallington date back to early 2013. Two civilian employees complained that they had been subjected to a campaign of bullying by Wallington, who allegedly would publicly mock his subordinates’ sexuality, disabilities and personal lives.

Wallington allegedly made “unfair and inappropriate demands” of staff “to complete tasks while colleagues were forced to watch,” according to an arbitration document related to the grievance the police association filed against the service’s handling of the harassment complaints.

A lawyer, hired by Durham police in April 2013 to investigate, substantiated the complaints against Wallington. He received a written warning and was required to participate in an educational program on respect in the workplace.

In an email to its members, the police association said Durham’s police services board “failed to implement discipline it had itself determined appropriate.”

“We are unaware of the board having initiated any discipline against the senior officer.”

In a brief interview outside his home, Wallington said he could not talk about the allegations against him.

“There are things that are before an arbitrator so I can’t comment on them. I don’t think it’s appropriate the service does or anyone else,” he said.

In Nick Lisi’s case, a formal workplace complaint was filed against him in November 2016.

A female sergeant working under Lisi in the General Occurrence Audit unit accused him of orchestrating a campaign of discrimination and bullying over a seven-month period.

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Durham Sgt. Nicole Whiteway alleges Lisi would publicly mock subordinates and any workplace accommodations they had. “He takes pride at making people cry,” she alleges in her complaint.

She alleges Lisi ridiculed her personal life, including her ex-husband’s mental health problems, and accused her of taking advantage of the force by seeking an accommodated schedule to care for her infant son, who has a life-threatening health condition.

During one shift, she alleges he berated her and said she “should feel ashamed and because of my accommodation the others in the unit did all the work.

“Lisi was mouth-breathing, angry and aggressive, and I actually feared for my safety.”

The complaint said Lisi also made sexually inappropriate comments in the office, an allegation corroborated by another officer in the unit.

The Star obtained a testimonial by Const. Rick Paul written as part of a personal submission he made to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.

In it, Const. Paul alleges Lisi boasted about his penis size at staff meetings, describing himself as “well hung,” and called an officer’s gay son a “homosexual prostitute.”

Whiteway and Paul both alleged Lisi would allow certain officers to drink alcohol in his office during work hours.

Paul would not comment on the allegations made in his testimonial, and Whiteway’s lawyer said she could not speak to the Star about her allegations for fear of reprisal from the police force.

In a brief telephone interview, Lisi said the allegations against him were untrue.

“The information you have is erroneous and incorrect,” he said. “Why would you report on something that could possibly be erroneous, incorrect and deceitful?”

Lisi, who earned nearly $167,000 last year according to Ontario salary disclosure, has acted as the hearing officer — another word for judge — in disciplinary cases involving Durham officers.

In late September, Durham police stated in an internal memo to Whiteway that a number of her allegations against Lisi were “substantiated” by an external consultant hired to review the complaint.

The memo, signed by Deputy Chief Uday Jaswal and stamped “confidential,” says the veteran officer will be docked 160 hours pay and forced to take behaviour modification training.

Durham police sources say Lisi has refused to accept the punishment. Now, instead of being resolved behind closed doors, the matter is expected to go to a public hearing.

It is unclear which allegations the investigation substantiated, as the specific findings are confidential.

When informing Whiteway of Lisi’s punishment, the internal memo said much of her complaint was “inconsistent” and only those portions “that could be corroborated by other sources were given serious consideration.”

The memo said several of her allegations, including sexual comments attributed to Lisi, were embellished, false or vexatious.

Whiteway’s lawyer said the criticisms of her credibility is an “inappropriate attempt to discredit” a complaint that’s damaging to the police force’s reputation.

“I’ve never seen a guy get 160 hours docked pay but they also say the complainant was lying or being vexatious, particularly when it’s corroborated by another sworn officer,” lawyer Peter Brauti said.