Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Dec 17/01) - A police officer suspended in Nunavik is now working for the RCMP in Iqaluit.

Const. Peter Lambros received a three-year suspension this November after a Montreal police commission ruled he refused to "intervene to prevent a criminal act, although the facts and circumstances had been related to him."

Lambros was a member of the Kativik Regional Police Force in Kuujjuarapik at the time.

"He refused to intervene when the health and safety of a young girl were in peril," said Sylvie Mathurin, media officer and mediator for the police commissioner's office. "The girl was sexually assaulted by her inebriated father," she added. "(Lambros) did nothing."

The girl was 10 years old.

The event took place in 1997. Lambros subsequently resigned his post with the KRPF where he had worked for three or four years, according to the force's Capt. Carl Pepin.

"It's a touchy subject for us," said Pepin, who added that he told RCMP of the complaint against Lambros when Lambros applied to the national force.

"They knew about it," he said. "But at the time he was hired, he was not sentenced yet. He was not even found guilty yet. Now they're stuck with the sentence."

The commissioner's ruling on the Lambros case was handed down Nov. 26. He has 31 days to appeal his sentence. As of last week, he had not appealed.

According to Iqaluit RCMP, Lambros arrived in the city this April.

"We're looking into the whole situation actively," said Staff Sgt. Mark Hennigar, who would not comment further. "Basically, everything to do with Mr. Lambros is protected under the Privacy Act, so we're not at liberty to discuss that," he said.

Lambros could not be reached for comment. An RCMP receptionist refused requests for a phone number, saying he would not be available in the near future.

Hennigar refused to say whether Lambros was on active duty in Iqaluit.