April 29/2024 Lindsay Buziak – do not trust the Saanich Police
ONE DIRTY COP AFTER ANOTHER. It’s no damn wonder the public has no trust in the Saanich Police.
Saanich Police officer fired for breaking into home and sexually assaulting civilian
Tuesday, November 18th, 2025
Link to story below:
Saanich Police officer fired for breaking into home and sexually assaulting civilian
A recently released report revealed a Saanich Police officer was dismissed from the department after committing a serious “misconduct.” This former officer was officially dismissed from duty for breaking into someone’s home and sexually assaulting them, though a civilian would face prison time for the same actions. Saanich Police reportedly contacted the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) to request an investigation after this incident came to their attention.
According to the OPCC’s 2024-2025 Substantiated Allegations Summaries report, the victim reported that after a social interaction at a restaurant, the officer entered their home and bedroom without invitation or announcement. The officer then initiated sexual contact with the victim without consent. Upon receiving Saanich Police’s request for an investigation, the OPCC assigned the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) to the investigation as the Disciplinary Authority.
This investigation was initially suspended after RCMP initiated a criminal investigation into the matter.
Allegation 1: The member entered the complainant’s residence without consent and initiated sexual contact without identifying themselves or obtaining the complainant’s consent.
MISCONDUCT Discreditable Conduct: Conduct that discredits the department
Date of Incident: August 2021
Disciplinary Process – Discipline Proceeding
DISCIPLINARY/CORRECTIVE MEASURE: Saanich Police officer retroactively fired, but no criminal charges.
DISGRACED FIRED COP AARON DAVID STUART UPDATE:
November 7/2025 Aaron Stuart appeared before the courts today. On the obstruction of justice charge, he was sentenced to a 1-year conditional sentence, and a 2-year probation order after that. He was ordered to submit to a DNA sample by Nov 30th and is not allowed to consume alcohol or do drugs. How the tables have turned! This crooked cop being sentenced to jail time. Wonder how long it will be before he breaches his court orders this time… You could hear a pin drop in the courtroom as the victim held up a picture of her bruised and busted face as she concluded her victim impact statement. The future is not looking very bright for this loser ex-cop.
SAANICH POLICE ALWAYS PROTECT DIRTY COPS
This disgraced cop brags that he still has friends in the Saanich Police department who will do anything for him. This hardly comes as any surprise considering the scandals that have gone on in that department.
The chair of Saanich’s police board has issued a statement in support of the Saanich Police Department
following news of a former Saanich police officer, who was the subject of 15 separate misconduct allegations that were substantiated following an investigation by Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC). Eleven of those substantiated allegations relate to what the reports calls an “inappropriate” relationship with a sex worker, while the remaining allegations concern the misappropriation of money seized from a confidential informant. The officer — a constable, whose gender remains unknown – was fired.
This case has raised a series of questions about the officer in question, as well as the department itself — questions that the police board has publicly deferred to the department itself following the board’s first meeting on Dec. 4 after the 2018 municipal election. “The Police Board is satisfied this matter is being adequately addressed by Chief [Bob] Downie and the [Saanich Police Department],” said Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes in an email to the Saanich News. “Please address any further inquiries you may have on this directly to Chef Downie and the SPD.”
The Saanich News re-submitted an earlier set of questions with two addenda to Saanich Police for comment. “Our Saanich Police comment is the same as it was on November 22nd,” said Sgt. Jereme Leslie in a statement dated Dec. 6. The statement from Nov. 22 — also from Leslie — said in part that the department took “immediate action” to remove the constable from “operational duties” followed by a suspension. “We also immediately notified the OPCC and requested their oversight,” he said at the time. As the allegations were significant, and potentially criminal in nature, police coordinated investigative efforts with BC Prosecution Service, he said.
“Saanich Police is proud of its culture of service, has deeply entrenched values, and clear expectations of conduct,” he said. “There are policies to guide our conduct, and the conduct of this former officer, completely disregarded our expectations and were blatant violations of our policies. The women and men of the Saanich Police Department are committed to our values and the community. We remain dedicated to earning and maintaining public trust through transparency, accountability, professionalism, and by being responsive to our community’s needs.”
This statement, however, leaves out details the department refuses to answer: the name of the officer; his or her tenure with Saanich police; his or her compensation while working for the department; any damage caused by the officer’s actions on investigations, the reputation of department, and department morale; any changes by the department to its screening process to avoid the hiring of individuals like the officer in question; and steps to improve training of current officers to prevent such behaviour in the future.
Saanich Police did respond — at least partially — to questions about any outstanding monies (such as pensions) owed to the officer, as well as whether the OPCC is currently investigating any Saanich officer. “Pension questions would need to be answered by the BC Pension Corporation, and regarding any ongoing OPCC investigations with any police agency in the province, you will need to contact the OPCC directly,” said Leslie.
Just what does Aaron Stuart have to do with Lindsay Buziak’s murder?
Well, according to Aaron he knows a lot about what happened to Lindsay, and he’s been talking. He was just recently charged with assault – K file (domestic violence). New hearing date is set for November 13/2025. In addition, this fired Saanich officer Aaron was charged with obstruction of justice and breach of undertaking.
On Monday, July 14th, 2025, Aaron appeared in Victoria Provincial Court on the obstruction of justice charge. He plead guilty & his sentencing date has been set for November 7/2025.
What is most interesting about all this, is that the Saanich Police shut down the Lindsay Buziak murder investigation on Monday, June 14th – the very same day that Aaron plead guilty on the obstruction of
You can usually find this idiot out riding his bike up on the Malahat.
That’s when he’s not running off at the mouth threatening his HA connections or beating up his girlfriends. When Aaron left the Saanich Police Department, he landed a job with another local company. Did his employer does not contact the Saanich Police Department for a reference. Surely if they had, Aaron would never have been hired. Or did Saanich give him a good reference? Hard to imagine, but just maybe they did.
Why did this guy ever get hired on with the Saanich Police Department? A cop who by 2015 had received 15 separate misconduct allegations. It hard to believe this man was never charged criminally. His name was never made public by the Office of the Police Complaint Commission (OPCC) either. Other than ruining his reputation and nearly collapsing the entire justice system, his departure left him totally unscathed. He was able to lock down employment, where his manipulation tactics served him well but are well known, and no longer tolerated.
The article written below is about Aaron David Stuart. At the time the journalist could not print his name because Aaron was never named in police documents.
Saanich News – Wilf Depner – November 21/2018
The chair of Saanich’s police board has issued a statement in support of the Saanich Police Department following news of a former Saanich police officer, who was the subject of 15 separate misconduct allegations that were substantiated following an investigation by Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC).
Eleven of those substantiated allegations relate to what the reports calls an “inappropriate” relationship with a sex worker, while the remaining allegations concern the misappropriation of money seized from a confidential informant. The officer — a constable, whose gender remains unknown – was fired.
A Saanich police officer resigned amid allegations that he engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a sex worker, tried to extort money from her and conducted an inadequate investigation into the sexual assault, domestic abuse and robbery of the same woman, according to a report from the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner. The misconduct case was outlined in the police complaint commissioner’s annual report, released Tuesday. All misconduct investigations into municipal police officers are overseen by the commissioner. The report also cited misconduct by an Oak Bay police officer.
According to the report, the Saanich officer was also found to have misappropriated money seized from a confidential informant and threatened to out the informant to their criminal associates He failed to conduct an adequate investigation into a report of a domestic assault, sexual assault and robbery of the sex worker, and exchanged sexual text messages and images with the woman, even though she was vulnerable as a victim of crime.
Saanich police initiated a Police Act investigation in 2015 after learning that one of its officers was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a sex worker. During the investigation, the department uncovered several more allegations of misconduct. It emerged that the officer tried to extort money from the woman using coercion and threats of criminal sanctions. The police complaint commissioner’s report said the officer filed a false or misleading investigative report and made false or misleading radio broadcasts related to an investigation. It’s unclear if those false reports were related to the sexual assault investigation.
On March 20, 2015, the police officer searched the PRIME Records Management System for information about individuals not related to the proper performance of his duties. He accessed a privatized file on PRIME and then communicated with the sex worker in an effort to determine what she had disclosed to police. The officer was removed from operational duties. He accessed a privatized file on PRIME and then communicated with the sex worker in an effort to determine what she had disclosed to police.
The officer was removed from operational duties. During the criminal investigation into the extortion allegations, the Police Act investigation was suspended. However, Crown counsel did not approve charges, and the Police Act investigation resumed. The officer also lied in his written statements to Crown counsel and to the officer investigating the misconduct allegations.
The Police Act investigation substantiated the allegations and found the officer guilty of discreditable conduct, corrupt practice, deceit, neglect of duty and unauthorized use of police facilities or resources. While the Police Act investigation was being conducted, the officer chose not to participate in discipline proceedings and resigned.
The discipline authority found the officer’s conduct “inexcusable and put the public at risk, the public confidence in the Saanich police at risk, the reputation of the Saanich police at risk and, in their totality, were grounds for dismissal,” according to the report.
Saanich Police claim they are proud of its culture of service, has deeply entrench values, and clear expectations of conduct. Clearly, this statement is nothing but BS.
Typically, the bodies that investigate police, are made up of retired police officers. This should not be the case. The police are still investigating the police. B.C. legislators have brushed off these concerns for years, despite evidence that the OPCC has been covering up serious incidents of police misconduct. The word cover-up is often avoided even though that is exactly what it is. OPCC cover-ups benefits from B.C.’s morass of ethically corrupt political parties and legal establishment, collaborationist activists and courtier media.
Any woman who is a victim of a sexual assault should never report their assault to the Saanich Police Department.
Take your complaint to the RCMP but not the Saanich Police. The evidence of corruption within Saanich is well-known. It’s not just the victims who are mistreated when they step through those wide glass doors at the front entrance, but the cops inside who themselves commit offenses against women on the inside and the outside. This department is an old boy’s club going back as far as I can remember. When a cop does wrong there is a team of cops to jump in and back them up, no matter what the offense. The more they stand by their brothers, the higher up the ranks they go.
That deep entrenched fear by women in the community is likely the reason that Saanich has a 20% charge rate in sexual assault, less than half the national average of 43%.
Why are people who know something too afraid to come forward?
Are they afraid that some of the police officers in this department have connections to the criminals that walk our streets? Are they afraid that their lives could be in danger if they share what they know with the wrong cop? Why are so many people saying they don’t trust the Saanich Police? Usually where there is smoke there is fire! And let’s not forget the harassment of Mayor Richard Atwell—why were the Saanich Police so eager to play a role in that? There seems to have been fear to have someone new leading the police board at that time.
This senior Saanich Police Officer was fired after the Police Complaints Commissioner confirmed a finding that he had committed 14 counts of Deceit as well as Discerptible Conduct and Neglect of Duty for falsifying the recertifications of other officers as Drug Recognition Experts. The fake recertification of other officers as Drug Recognition Experts would have permitted them to test people suspected of driving under the influence of drugs.
The senior officer, who has yet to be identified, engaged in this conduct over an extended period, which took place between 2014-2016. While the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner reported the findings in his annual report, he did not identify the officer. So far, the Saanich Police department has also not identified the officer. The discipline process took so long that the officer retired before the discipline hearing and then failed to show up. His firing, and a reduction in rank, were made retroactive. No charges were ever laid.
The officer responsible for the fake recertifications should be identified, and further inquiries should be made to determine if the officers he improperly recertified were complicit in what transpired.
This case has raised a series of questions about the officer in question, as well as the department itself — questions that the police board has publicly deferred to the department itself following the board’s first meeting on Dec. 4 after the 2018 municipal election. “The Police Board is satisfied this matter is being adequately addressed by Chief [Bob] Downie and the [Saanich Police Department],” said Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes in an email to the Saanich News. “Please address any further inquiries you may have on this directly to Chef Downie and the SPD.” In other words, kiss off we have nothing more to say.
“Police officers are in such a position of power, so when it is betrayed,
it shakes the foundation of trust that [sexual abuse] survivors should have in going to report to police. That completely undermines that process.” “That person was in a very vulnerable situation and that was completely taken advantage of.” According to the Saanich Police Department, between 2011 & May 2020 it received 858 assault reports. Of those, charge consideration reports were sent to Crown on 173 instances, and 153 of those went to court. That means Saanich Police sent forward about 20% of sexual assault reports. Statistics show that 95% of sexual assaults are true, not accounting for the vast majority that go unreported.
“The shame and blame that people experience having to speak about an experience where you’ve been violated is really challenging to do. Going to police and having to recount the details of that trauma can be completely overwhelming. If the officer involved is not treating the survivor with the respect and dignity that they deserve, it’s even more challenging to go through that process.” For members of marginalized communities, that process can be even harder. People who have been over-policed and targeted and experienced harassment from police, may not see police as a safe place to go, she said.
IN 2018, ASHLEY REPORTS A SEXUAL ASSAULT TO A SAANICH POLICE OFFICE & THE OFFICER TRIED TO CONVINCE THE VICTIM NOT TO REPORT, THEN LIED ABOUT IT.
A young Saanich woman says she was left feeling disheartened and blamed after she told local police she had been sexually assaulted. Ashley, 19, who is using a pseudonym to protect her identity, waited more than a year to go to the Saanich Police Department (SPD). She wanted to wait until she was 18 and could report without having her parents find out about the assault.
Police documents released to Ashley and shared with Black Press Media state that Ashley and a young man were making out – something she was comfortable with initially. But when they moved to a blow-up air mattress, Ashley says the man assaulted her, performing oral sex on her, followed by penetration. Both by her own account and police reports, Ashley said she didn’t resist physically, but said ‘no’ more than once.
“[Ashley] felt very uncomfortable with this evening, understands that as a 16-year-old at the time, she was very intoxicated and confused about the whole affair with [name retracted],” reads the police report. The Saanich police constable in charge of Ashley’s case concluded the file on April 9, 2019. In that file, the officer writes that Ashley was “never forced to do anything she had not agreed to by way of body language.” He wrote that the threshold for a sexual assault charge wasn’t satisfied based on the evidence gathered.
According to Ashley, the officer told her that it didn’t matter how many times she had said ‘no’ because body language was another form of communication.
“And he said if I didn’t fight back, and I was conscious enough to [fight back], then it didn’t count. He said there would be no chance on it going to court because they would look at me as an under-age teenager who was just trying to fit in and be cool.” She said the constable told her he hoped that she put herself in ‘better situations in the future.’ The constable spoke to the suspect, who offered to make an in-person apology. Ashley didn’t want to hear it. She felt emotionally defeated by the process.
Ashley went to the media after reading about an October 2019 report from the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC), which revealed a Saanich police officer was suspended for 20 days after counselling an alleged sexual assault victim not to report the incident to police. “I do understand it’s a huge problem. No one gets convicted or actually gets charged because, despite how much evidence you have, the criminal court is so poorly set up … and the police aren’t making that any better, any easier. It’s so frustrating because [police] is the first step.”
Since then, Ashley said the constable on her file issued an apology to her through a liaison officer with the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre, where she receives counselling. “It definitely did impact my mental health,” she says. “I almost took my life because of it.”
IN 2021 STAFF SERGEANT ANDREW WALSH WAS FIRED FOR STALKING HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND & HER FAMILY
After being stalked for nearly two years and worried for the safety of herself and her family a Saanich woman filed a complaint against Staff Sergeant Andrew Walsh, head of the Saanich police detective division at the time. This woman herself had been a Saanich police officer for 30 years and was the former girlfriend of Andrew Walsh. When she came forward, she believed that the criminal justice system and society had made significant progress on how it treats cases such as this. She was shocked to learn that the Saanich Police Department would be doing the investigation, a frightening thought since Saanich is known as an old boy’s club who will do anything to protect their own.
The investigation determined that the officer had in fact used police databases to look up information on his ex-partner and her family 92 times, all of which were unauthorized. The discipline authority also found that the officer had lied to investigators that were reviewing the complaint. The investigation found Andrew Walsh’s actions to be “egregiously serious and lying about it during the investigation. He stalked this woman, showing up outside her home and used police databases to search for her information. The misconduct investigation found that he had conducted searches in police databases on 13 people associated with her.
This included her mother, her siblings, and her children. Her ex-husband and current partner were also queried, as was her deceased father. “As a victim of this type of crime and behaviour, it’s one thing if it’s against you, and only you. But when it involves your family, it takes it to another level. And of course, I have to deal with blaming myself for bringing him into my family. So that’s another factor,” T.B. said.
The victim, T.B. says she is left with the feeling that Walsh is being protected instead of her, which is why she decided to publicly share her story. “My hope is that if the community is aware, the public is aware, that this will … act as a deterrent to this continuing for me or any of my family members,” she said. “Any women that find themselves in this position – especially when it comes to police officers who are the offenders – speak up, speak out.”
STAFF SGT. ANDREW WALSH MAY HAVE BEEN FIRED, BUT NOT BEFORE THE SAANICH POLICE PUT HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND THROUGH HELL FOR FAILING TO REPORT HER EX-PARTNER
2019 ANOTHER YOUNG WOMAN CHELSEA REPORTED HER SEXUAL ASSAULT TO THE SAANICH POLICE
When Chelsea went to the Saanich Police Department in 2016, she knew the chances her case would ever see the inside of a courtroom were low. She knew the stats, and the support workers at the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre had repeatedly prepared her for disappointment. But she also knew what happened to her. She had said ‘no’ numerous times, she had clearly expressed her discomfort, and he hadn’t stopped.
She met the agent on Tinder. At 28, Chelsea was trying out the app for the first time and was wary of meeting up with someone she didn’t know. But, when she swiped on the agent’s profile and saw he worked for a local Royal LePage branch, she felt a sense of security knowing he was easily searchable online and worked in the public eye. Black Press Media is not naming the agent as charges were not laid. A week of messaging went by, and Chelsea agreed to meet at the agent’s home. Almost immediately after arriving, Chelsea said he started pressuring her to have sex. He was pushy, persistent and aggressive, she said.
Chelsea said she was raped by a local real estate agent on Oct. 15, 2016. She requested Black Press Media use only her first name, to protect her identity. In the years that followed, Saanich police made several mistakes in the handling of Chelsea’s report, including failing to read the agent his rights before questioning him – making any incriminating aspects of what he said inadmissible in court – and mislabeling Chelsea’s file as “unfounded.” The department has ultimately acknowledged this. Later, when Chelsea reached out to the agent’s employer and licensing body, they too dismissed her claims.
“The Saanich Police Board has apologized for the department’s treatment of a sexual assault survivor’s report after she shared their missteps and her degrading experience with officers. The Saanich police made a statement saying, “Survivors must have confidence in going to the police knowing that we will respect their dignity and have their best interests at heart This is where we want to be.”
What was never made public in Chelsea’s case was the fact that the realtor’s father was a retired Saanich Police officer, (now deceased). So, whether the Saanich Police were protecting a cop’s son, or the memory of his father is unknown.
INVESTIGATION FINDS A LONGTIME SAANICH POLICE OFFICER COUNSELLED A VICTIM NOT TO REPORT THEIR SEXUAL ASSAULT TO POLICE. This officer’s name has never been made disclosed.
The cop, who had been with the force for 26 years at the time of the investigation, received a 20-day suspension for counselling the victim to not report their sexual assault to police. His actions sparked an internal probe, where he received a further 30 days after providing false or misleading statements to the investigating officer. The Saanich officer suspended for counselling an alleged sexual assault victim also faced a misconduct allegation for providing a false or misleading statement to the officer looking into the first allegation, for which he received a 30-day suspension.
The Saanich officer suspended for counselling an alleged sexual assault victim also faced a misconduct allegation for providing a false or misleading statement to the officer looking into the first allegation, for which he received a 30-day suspension. Misconduct allegations of Saanich police force detailed in OPCC report.
POLICE CORRUPTION A REAL PROBLEM
I applaud the initiative of the BC Civil Liberties organization. The current situation is entirely unacceptable and real changes must happen as soon as possible. Until then, holding the police accountable under the threat of smaller legal challenges is the best we can hope for. A government report has concluded police are simply not investigated in a thorough way and receive vastly different treatment from fellow officers.
That one in five cases that were improperly investigated indicates not only that police corruption is very real, but also incredibly widespread. Officers in BC simply do not face justice on the same level as ordinary citizens. A two-tiered justice system in incompatible with our modern society.
EMAIL ADDRESS: murderondesousa@gmail.com