Victoria cop Chris Kayiatos worked on Pandora Avenue “Beat Team” while under investigation for sexual assault
VicPD were made aware of the allegation against Kayiatos in April 2025, according to chief Fiona Wilson. Kayiatos continued to work until he was suspended with pay in May 2026.
By Tyson Singh Kelsall with P.O.W.E.R.
On May 8, the Victoria Police Department put out a press release stating that the BC Prosecution Service had approved a sexual assault charge against their constable Chris Kayiatos, based on an external investigation.
VicPD chief Fiona Wilson told media that her department became aware of the allegations against Kayiatos in April 2025 concerning an Oct. 2024 off-duty incident, per The Canadian Press.
After the VicPD had been reportedly informed of the investigation into Kayiatos, they assigned at least some of his duties to the re-introduced Pandora Avenue “Beat Team” in January (Kayiatos’ VicPD business card reads as “Beat Unit”). Along with his VicPD business card, P.O.W.E.R. obtained multiple cellphone videos that show Kayiatos policing Pandora Avenue.
The VicPD Beat Team started operating in January. The re-introduced team came as the City of Victoria established a shared bylaw and police ‘hub’ on the 900 block of Pandora Avenue — the same block as Victoria’s safe consumption site. (This is despite evidence showing that law enforcement presence can deter access to overdose prevention services).
Wilson described the Beat Team as a step forward in “relationship-based policing” in a January statement issued by the VicPD. “When officers know the community and the community knows their officers, trust grows and safety improves,” Wilson continued. These comments came roughly nine months after her department was made aware of the allegations against Kayiatos, according to Wilson and the VicPD’s stated timeline.
In a phone call, the City of Victoria clarified to P.O.W.E.R. that the Beat Team and bylaw do not have a formalized collaboration, but that officers from both departments may happen to be on shift in the same area at times. In a follow-up email, the City stated that the Beat Team, along with any other VicPD officer deployment, is able to use the 900-block Pandora Avenue office.
The City says there are two VicPD officers officially designated to the bylaw team on weekdays, which is separate.
P.O.W.E.R. received reports of Beat Team officers seizing and destroying people’s harm reduction supplies. But the City of Victoria states they are not aware of any complaints specific to this concern regarding Kayiatos.
In their press release, the VicPD said, “As this matter is now before the courts, no further comment will be provided.”
Kayiatos was also involved with the Greater Victoria Police Foundation’s “police camp” for youth in 2024.
VicPD workplace environment
Kayiatos is not the first VicPD in recent memory to face allegations of sexual misconduct.
In 2017, then-VicPD Chief Frank Elsner resigned before multiple counts of sexual harassment were substantiated against him. These incidents dated back to at least 2014, according to the review of the investigation by BC’s Office of Police Complaints Commissioner (OPCC).
VicPD Sergeant Brent Keleher was suspended in 2018 for what the OPCC deemed “discreditable conduct” during an off-duty sexual act.
CHEK News reported that an unnamed VicPD officer was suspended in 2023 after allegations of sextortation and grooming. Also in 2023, VicPD Special Municipal Constable Foster Martin was suspended for two days after allegedly recording videos of people masturbating while incarcerated; Martin was later charged and convicted of child luring.
An 2021 internal evaluation of the VicPD indicated that 20% of the department’s staff was on leave for reasons related to mental health, while the workplace was characterized as “toxic.”
A number of text messages between provincial government officials and VicPD surfaced during a legal case last month. In a series of texts, then-Deputy Chief Mike Brown sent one to Jennifer McCrea, BC’s deputy minister of Education and Child Care, where he described the school board chair Nicole Duncan as “the one that looks like a narcissistic moron.” Brown’s “immediate” retirement from the VicPD was announced during a police board meeting just two weeks before the texts became public knowledge.
In 2020, VicPD continued to allow their Constable Robb Ferris to work while he was under investigation. This led to a collapse of some legal cases involving the VicPD in what CTV News described as a “corruption scandal.”
Three month ago, the OPCC announced a systemic investigation to address “workplace sexualized conduct,” across all municipal police forces in BC, which includes the VicPD.
Related
After decades, advocates await justice in Prince George RCMP probe: The Tyee
More than 600 RCMP officers faced gender-based violence disciplinary charges from 2014 — 2024: CBC News
Surrey Six Mountie’s misconduct involved boozy affair with a witness: CBC News
An officer who killed Myles Gray now works in a high school: The Tyee
Community policing and expanding the carceral web: Robyn Maynard
‘That sounds disgusting’: Disturbing allegations at B.C. undercover police training course: CTV News
The toxic culture that left a Vancouver police officer dead: The Conversation