A Vancouver Police Department (VPD) spokesperson who frequently speaks to the media has been named in a civil claim in the Supreme Court of BC, including allegations of bullying and harassment.
Steve Addison, the VPD media liaison in question, is named as the defendant in the claim filed on July 26 along with the City of Vancouver, the Attorney General of BC, the BC Minister of Public Safety, and the Solicitor General of British Columbia.
The plaintiff, Sharmini Dee, claims that she was subject to “almost daily harassment and bullying by Addison.”
Several other claims were made against Addison and the VPD as an organization.
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Dee, a public relations specialist, became a supervisor of Addison and other officers. In June 2024, she resigned for what the BC Supreme Court claim says was a “direct consequence of the abuse.”
Dee claims that Addison engaged in threatening and intimidating behaviour and ignored the chain of command. He also allegedly told her that she was being set up to fail and that her job should have been given to him.
The civil claim says that Addison took steps to ensure Dee was embarrassed in front of her team.
The claim says that Addison engaged in “eye-rolling and other facial gestures at team meetings while [Dee] was speaking.”
Addison allegedly told her she was unsuitable for her job and would fail at it.
The claim adds that there were other instances of harassment and bullying by Addison that were aimed at other female members of the public affairs department but that no one took steps to discipline Addison or to convey that his behaviour would not be tolerated.
When Dee complained to VPD administration, she was informed that she had to make accommodations for Addison while he adapted to her being his supervisor.
When she spoke up to other members of VPD management, she was allegedly told that she wasn’t a team player.
The VPD also declined her request to reassign Addison to another department.
The civil claim goes on to say that sexually explicit comments were “frequently made to, or about the Plaintiff by Addison and other members of the VPD.”
We contacted the VPD for comment on the bullying claims and were told it would be inappropriate to comment on court matters, “specifically personnel matters.”
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