Text messages described as “flirtatious” between former Regina police chief Farooq Sheikh and a member of the Regina Board of Police Commissioners have been a key focus during four days of appeal proceedings.
Sheikh was fired in October 2025 after a months-long investigation by the province’s Public Complaints Commission into allegations of inappropriate conduct. The allegations were made by a member of the police board, who is being referred to as the complainant due to a publication ban.
Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski, who also sits on the police board, testified about how commissioners came to the conclusion that Sheikh’s conduct with the complainant was inappropriate.
Bachynski said he was shown the text messages in an investigation report in September 2025 and described his reaction as one of betrayal.
“This is not how the public would expect a chief of police to act,” Bachynski testified.
The mayor also described receiving what he called a “very frantic” phone call from Sheikh in mid-March, before the complaint was filed.
He said Sheikh described his relationship with the complainant during the call as being “like a sister to me.”
Bachynski testified that the call confused him at the time, but that he later viewed it different after the complaint was filed.
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“I feel like I was being pre-manipulated to understand what may happen, which ultimately was a complaint being brought forward,” he said.
Additional texts reveal Sheikh sent text messages to two board members in December 2024, during a private in-camera meeting where board members were discussing his contract. Sheikh had been excluded from the meeting and testified he became impatient. The complainant responded to his messages while the meeting was underway. He admitted to this being an error and agreed it could erode trust of the board. He also acknowledged he did not disclose the messages to the board before they were later uncovered through the legal process.
When asked whether he agreed his actions were unethical or lacked transparency, he said, “I agree.”
“I made a couple of errors through frustration in my contract. I do accept that,” he testified.
Another issue examined during the proceedings stems from a February 2025 drug investigation in which the complainant was found to have a connection to one of the people charged.
The complainant subsequently resigned and was later removed from the board.
A recording of a Feb. 26, 2025 phone call between Sheikh and the complainant was also played during the hearing.
In the recording, Sheikh can be heard asking whether the call was being recorded and telling the complainant to delete text messages between them because he was concerned they could be misconstrued if someone else saw them.
When asked about Sheikh’s actions, Bachynski testified that it “speaks to the lack of trust and accountability to follow direction.”
“Ultimately we are the chief’s employer, when we lay direction, there is an expectation for that to be respected,” he said.
Sheikh testified to initially developing a relationship with the complainant to support them in their role as a new board member, and said it evolved from there.
Sheikh said he has since deleted their text messages. When asked whether he did so because of the complainant’s potential connection to the drug investigation, Sheikh said he did so because he was embarrassed by the messages, but maintains it had nothing to do with the investigation.
He also acknowledged some of the messages had sexual innuendo, and the pair communicated through third-party apps, including WhatsApp.
Sheikh testified that he should not have allowed the exchanges to develop as they did, but said his intent was limited to “flirtatious humour and banter” that was “all fun and cheeky.”
The appeal is expected to continue next week.
Hannah Sangster has more in the video above.
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