Hearing dates set for matter involving former MJPS officer

MOOSE JAW — The Saskatchewan Police Commission has set dates to hear a situation involving former Moose Jaw Police Service officer, Supt. Taylor Mickleborough, who was fired last fall.

The hearing of the matter between Mickleborough and the chief of police for the MJPS is set for Wednesday, July 23 to Friday, July 25, Wednesday, Aug. 27 to Friday, Aug. 29 and Monday, Oct. 20 to Friday, Oct. 24.

The commission has not yet determined the location, nor released any other details.

The Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com learned last October that former police chief Rick Bourassa had suspended Mickleborough around August or September 2024, before outright firing the 24-year member in about September.

Mickleborough is known to have begun his policing career in 2000. He had worked in traffic enforcement, criminal investigations and the serious crimes unit and won several awards during his nearly three decades in uniform.

The police service confirmed to the Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com in early October that Mickleborough was no longer a member of the force but declined to offer any extra details about the firing, nor what sections of the Saskatchewan Police Act he may have violated.

During a meeting of the Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners in early October, Bourassa — who resigned in January 2025 because of health issues — confirmed that he fired Mickleborough using Section 60 of The Police Act as his guide. He pointed out that that section gives criteria to chiefs on how and when they can dismiss members.

Also, the former chief said Section 61 of the act gives dismissed members the ability to appeal to the Saskatchewan Police Commission, which would then hold a public hearing on the matter.

Bourassa said at the time that he wanted to respect the legal process and noted that saying anything else or litigating or trying those matters outside of those hearings “would be wildly inappropriate.”

In early February, Jay Watson, the hearing officer for the Saskatchewan Police Commission, Adam Touet, the defence lawyer for Mickleborough, and Mitch Holash, the legal counsel for the acting police chief (Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners), met by phone to discuss the situation.

They later met by phone in late February to exchange information so they could start determining how long the hearing might take. They also held other phone meetings in the following weeks, but those were held in private.

According to the City of Moose Jaw’s 2024 public accounts, Mickleborough was one of the highest-paid police officers in the city last year, earning $151,192.76.