Former Calgary police officer appeals dismissal over sexual misconduct conviction

Former Calgary police officer Const. Michael Oakey appealed his dismissal from the force Tuesday before a four-person Law Enforcement Review Board panel, arguing the presiding officer's decision lacked necessary reasoning and that his punishment was unreasonably harsh.

Oakey was dismissed in January 2026 after a disciplinary hearing presided over by retired Court of King's Bench justice Adele Kent. In 2024, he had been demoted for one year over sharing an intimate video of himself and a woman with co-workers without her consent. Kent concluded Oakey guilty of discreditable conduct in making inappropriate sexual advances toward a female complainant, identified as A.A., in a quid-pro-quo arrangement involving help with her job application to Calgary Police Service in 2018.

Oakey's lawyer, Cory Wilson, argued before the panel that Kent believed the complainant but failed to explain why. "The presiding officer said 'I believe her,' but what is missing and required is why the presiding officer finds A.A. reliable and credible," Wilson said. "What's missing was the 'why'." Wilson also argued Kent excused the complainant's dishonesty — she had lied repeatedly about being sexually assaulted, going on a police ride-along, and details on her application form — as a result of harsh treatment by the police service's professional standards section. "The presiding officer became an advocate for A.A.," Wilson told the board. "It is frankly shocking explaining (dishonesty) away as somebody else's fault."

Two counts against Oakey were dismissed: applying force to a civilian without consent and touching her sexually without consent while in a police vehicle. Wilson argued Oakey and the complainant had consensual sex twice, which was not predatory behaviour, and that Oakey's dismissal was unreasonably harsh.

Michael Mysak, lawyer for the police chief, argued Kent was within her rights to pursue the case despite a one-year deadline on the complainant's initial complaint. "There's more than one complainant — the chief has a unique, separate and equal interest in pursuing the complaint," Mysak said. Then-chief Mark Neufeld became the complainant after hearing of the accusation in March 2023 and acted on it three months later.