Chief Bryan Larkin calls officer's suspension with pay 'simply unfair'

Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin is asking for changes to an Ontario law that guarantees a steady paycheque to officers who have been suspended from duty, a rule he calls "simply unfair."

Larkin's call for change comes after Craig Markham, a former constable with the force, sent a "thank you" note boasting of his lifestyle while on a three-year suspension with pay, a time he says he used "to sit home, take courses, travel and play lots of golf," all on the public dime.

"I am very thankful and fortunate to have received such a nice gift from [the Waterloo Regional Police Service] over the last three years," Markham wrote in a March 27 email to the force's lawyer. "You have opened up doors for me and have paid me to sit back and watch. What a dream come true."