Tribunal dismisses appeal of former Toronto cop who was fired after tweeting workplace harassment allegations
A panel of judges has dismissed an appeal launched by a former Toronto police officer who was terminated from the service after making allegations of workplace harassment and abuse on social media.
In a decision released in early April, a three-judge panel upheld a prior ruling that found Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd, a former constable with the Toronto Police Service (TPS), guilty of professional misconduct and insubordination, along with her dismissal from the service.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
The initial ruling, handed down to Zarabi-Majd in March 2023, relates to over 25,000 posts she made from a Twitter account titled ‘Dirty Shades of Blue.' Many of those tweets contained allegations of discrimination and abuse within the service first levied by Zarabi-Majd in 2018 as part of an ongoing human rights complaint against the Toronto Police Services Board.
At disciplinary proceedings held in March 2023, Hearing Officer Robin D. McElary-Downer called Zarabi-Majd’s Twitter posts “libelous” and “slanderous,” dubbing them an “18-month smear campaign” against the service and board. The tweets, McElary-Downer found, were on course to "not only damage, but destroy" the reputation of both the service and the board.
Zarabi-Majd did not attend the hearing, indicating through her lawyer that she was unable to participate due to post-traumatic stress disorder.
At the appeal hearing, held in January, Zarabi-Majd argued the tribunal's decision casts a "chilling effect" on those with allegations of police misconduct. In it, the panel sent “a powerful message that there is no room for criticism of the functioning of the police service and those in positions of power,” she wrote.
The former officer argued in the appeal that she was the victim of police wrongdoing and that a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder coloured her conduct.
After considering the submissions, the panel upheld McElary-Downer's decision, finding it “necessary in protecting public confidence in policing." To Zarabi-Majd' submission that the tweets were an attempt to raise awareness of "perceived injustices," the panel found that "any alleged workplace harassment did not justify the misconduct."
The panel also found the original tribunal finding to have no impact on future reporting of harassment through appropriate channels.
"We are satisfied, in the circumstances of this case, the findings of misconduct were necessary to protect public confidence in policing. We are also satisfied that the penalty chosen by the Hearing Officer is proportional in the circumstances," the panel wrote.
CTV News Toronto has reached out to lawyers for Zarabi-Majd for further comment.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.