Defendants named in a harassment and defamation lawsuit totaling $2 million, brought forth by a former Medicine Hat police chief, have shifted the blame onto a local police officer facing a criminal charge of attempted obstruction of justice. Mike Worden, with a background of 25 years in the Calgary Police Service before assuming the top role in Medicine Hat, initiated the lawsuit in 2024. Allegations suggest that Worden endured a targeted harassment and blackmail scheme over a six-month span in 2022, aiming to coerce his resignation.
The lawsuit claims that false accusations of sexual misconduct were spread by Worden’s former colleagues to peers, the police commission, and the media, ultimately leading to his resignation from a five-year contract after only 16 months. The defendants in the case encompass a woman linked to Worden through a consensual relationship, along with three officers from the Medicine Hat Police Service (MHPS): Brent Secondiak, Carissa Witkowski, and Constable Noel Darr. Additionally, the City of Medicine Hat and the current police chief are implicated, as is customary in workplace-related litigation involving a police officer.
Notably, Constable Darr currently faces a criminal charge related to obstruction of justice. Four of the defendants, including the city, police chief, Secondiak, and Witkowski, have submitted a third-party claim asserting that any damages suffered by Worden were solely due to Darr’s actions outside his employment scope with the City and his contractual agreement.
Amidst witness tampering allegations, the defendants have refuted all claims made in Worden’s lawsuit and are seeking its dismissal. They maintain that if Worden prevails, they should not be held vicariously liable for Darr’s conduct, which allegedly contravened the standards and ethical duties expected of a police officer within the MHPS. Darr, aged 57, was charged with obstruction of justice last summer, specifically for purportedly tampering with a witness in Medicine Hat between February 2022 and November 2023.
Scheduled trial dates have been set for Darr in May 2027, yet he has not yet submitted a statement of defense in the civil suit. Despite efforts to obtain a comment from Darr’s legal representation by CBC News, no response has been received. It is essential to note that none of the allegations within the lawsuit have been substantiated in court.
Worden’s tenure with the Calgary Police Service spanning 25 years transitioned into his appointment as Medicine Hat’s police chief under a five-year contract commencing in January 2021. The lawsuit asserts that the trio of officers conspired to depict Worden, through false complaints to the police commission, on social media, and to journalists, as misusing his authority to engage in inappropriate interactions with women.
The defendants, including Sashia Stiere, an individual with whom Worden had a brief romantic involvement in late 2021, have been implicated. Stiere, who had a prior relationship with Darr and remained acquaintances post their involvement, admitted to sharing text message screenshots with Darr, labeling them as “disturbing and creepy” in her statement of defense. The lawsuit further alleges that Secondiak informed Worden of sexually-themed text messages between him and Stiere, hinting at their potential disclosure to the police commission unless Worden resigned.
In her defense statement, Stiere acknowledged sharing these messages with Darr at his request, emphasizing that Darr then disseminated them to third parties without her approval. Stiere denies any collaboration with the other defendants to harass, defame, or impede Worden’s employment. Additionally, the lawsuit claims that Darr and Secondiak reported Worden to the commission under the guise of receiving a harassment complaint from a woman. Subsequently, a third-party investigation initiated by the commission ultimately vindicated Worden of any wrongdoing after the woman disavowed filing a complaint.