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Thunder Bay Police Services Board chair Jackie Dojack, left, and acting Thunder Bay Police chief Sylvie Hauth.Thunder Bay Police Services

The chair of the police services board in Thunder Bay, Ont., was suspended from her duties as an investigation was launched into her actions related to a criminal case involving the police chief.

Jackie Dojack, the volunteer chair of the police board, was investigated by the office of the Ontario Civilian Police Commission starting on May 19. The investigation concluded that Ms. Dojack's actions represented "an error in judgment," but were not in violation of the code of conduct. The OCPC did not provide any further detail about what she allegedly did; nor did it say what the "error in judgement" involved.

"The OCPC became aware that the Chair may have had knowledge of some of the circumstances relating to the criminal charges laid against the Chief of the Thunder Bay Police Service. The OCPC wanted to clarify what information Ms. Dojack had been aware of, what actions she took upon receiving it, and to ensure that there was no ongoing conflict of interest in her role as Chair and as a possible witness in the criminal case."

The OCPC said in a statement that it drew its conclusions regarding her conduct based on information received from Ms. Dojack. Attempts to reach Ms. Dojack and board vice-chair Brian McKinnon on Thursday were unsuccessful.

There are a number of investigations involving Thunder Bay police and its civilian overseers.

Related: Thunder Bay police say RCMP inquiry into Indigenous teens' deaths not needed

Read more: Documents shed light on charges against Thunder Bay police chief

Read more: First Nations plead for RCMP to address Thunder Bay 'policing crisis'

Thunder Bay Police Chief J.P. Levesque was charged with obstruction of justice and breach of trust last month over an alleged incident that involved disclosing confidential information about Mayor Keith Hobbs. At the same time, the police force is being investigated by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director for the way it handles cases involving Indigenous people.

The OCPC is also investigating into the police services board and the effectiveness of its civilian oversight in response to a complaint lodged by Indigenous leaders. They have said they've lost confidence in police and the board, and have called for the RCMP to be brought in to investigate the deaths of two Indigenous teenagers in the city's waterways in May. They've also called for an administrator to be brought in to run the board.

Ms. Dojack was reinstated as board chair on May 31, according to the OCPC. The suspension did not reflect any findings, according to the commission, but was triggered automatically once the investigation was launched.

On Wednesday, Ms. Dojack spoke at a press conference in Thunder Bay that was intended to address what critics have labelled a policing crisis in the city. Ms. Dojack did not to go into detail about her suspension or the reasons for it at the time, and referred questions to the OCPC.

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