Medicine Hat police commission, former police chief issue statements on his resignation

The Commission treated it as a complaint and put in place an investigative process, conducted by a law firm not based in Medicine Hat, to ensure complete independence.

The law firm in turn hired an investigator to conduct a thorough review. The Commission had no contact with the investigator and no limits were placed on their inquiry. The Commission received the initial information from the former Chief at the beginning of March and the work to establish and complete the investigative process took approximately two months.

A summary report was submitted to the Commission clearing former Chief Worden of any wrongdoing. These findings were also forwarded to the Solicitor General, who confirmed that proper protocols had been followed by the Commission.

We thank former Chief Worden for his service and our search for a new Chief has begun.

Given this is a Medicine Hat Police Service human relations matter, and Mr. Worden is no longer employed by the MHPS, we can provide no further comment.”

The statement from the commission comes after Worden spoke out about his sudden departure from the police service.

Worden informed the Medicine Hat Police Service he was resigning on Friday but the Police Commission didn’t make his departure public until Monday.

CHAT News learned that the resignation was connected to a consensual sexual relationship Worden was involved in.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Worden sent a statement to CHAT News to clarify the circumstances surrounding his resignation.

Worden said in April 2022, the Medicine Hat Police Commission undertook an independent investigation into allegations made by a member of the MHPS regarding an intimate consensual relationship that he was engaged in.

Worden said the relationship was with a member of the public based on consensual digital correspondence.

“The independent investigation was led by a law firm that retained a third-party investigator that had access to the correspondence referenced in the allegation. Throughout this process, I provided my full cooperation. Ultimately, the independent investigation concluded that this was a completely personal matter between two consenting adults, with no bearing or impact on my professional role or responsibilities,” he said.

Worden said the independent investigation determined that he had conducted no wrongdoing, that all interactions were consensual and at no time was his position as Chief or as a police officer a factor in the relationship.

Ian Roddick, a communications advisor with the Justice and Solicitor General’s office in Alberta also sent a statement to CHAT News. Roddick says the Government of Alberta was contacted by the Medicine Hat Police Service in relation to s.46.1 of the Police Act. It directs the police service to report matters involving the actions of police which may have resulted in serious injury or are of a serious and sensitive nature such that consideration may be given to any criminal investigation conducted by ASIRT. The matter was determined to be out of scope of that section of the Police Act as there were no allegations of criminal conduct.

Worden says “despite being completely cleared of any wrongdoing, I tendered my resignation as I felt that the situation had impacted my ability to lead the MHPS with the professionalism that is deserving of the men and women of the MHPS, and the people of the City of Medicine Hat.

My resignation was also made to provide me time to rebuild trust with my family, and I have relocated to Calgary as a result,” he said.

“I am disappointed that a consensual and private matter between two adults acting as private citizens has become public, but I take full responsibility and apologize to my family and to my colleagues. As the independent investigation undertaken by the Commission identified that this is a personal matter with no bearing on my professional responsibilities, I will not be commenting further,” he added.

Worden ended his statement thanking the men and women of the MHPS for their dedication and professionalism and the community of Medicine Hat for their unwavering support.

by Tiffany Goodwein

Medicine Hat police commission, former police chief issue statements on his resignation

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