A Pivot Legal Society complaint will hound Jamie Graham well into his scheduled retirement from the position of Vancouver police chief in August.

The office of the police complaint commissioner has ordered Delta police chief Jim Cessford to investigate Pivot's complaint that Graham obstructed an RCMP probe into police abuses in the Downtown Eastside.

According to Bruce Brown, a deputy commissioner at the OPCC, Cessford has six months, starting last month, to wrap up the investigation.

"The investigation will continue regardless of his [Graham's] retirement or departure," Brown told the Straight . "So there still is ultimately an outcome".

The OPCC had previously designated the Saanich police department to investigate the other component of Pivot's complaint relating to the supposed noncooperation of Vancouver police officers below Graham's rank.

On May 14, Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan summarily dismissed the Pivot complaint, stating, among other things, that Graham is set to retire anyway and would no longer be subject to disciplinary action.

Police complaint commissioner Dirk Ryneveld disagreed and reversed Sullivan's decision. In his June 21 order directing Cessford to investigate Graham, Ryneveld noted that he had consulted Sullivan, who is the discipline authority over the Vancouver police chief.

"If in fact the chief constable has departed prior to the decision being made, the discipline authority can't issue any discipline," Brown explained. "All they can do is say, 'This is likely what could have been [done] had they stayed.' Our office could still review the decision. We could still order a public hearing."

Brown noted that Graham has announced he will cooperate in the investigation. "There's probably discussions about him being interviewed prior to his departure," the deputy commissioner said.

The Wednesday (July 18) meeting of the Vancouver police board, chaired by Sullivan, will be the last for Graham in his capacity as chief constable, according to board executive director Hollie Riordan.

Graham's five-year contract with the City ends on August 22, and the board has chosen deputy chief Jim Chu as his successor.