EXCLUSIVE: Chu vows not to resign, apologizes and speaks out on allegations
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Summary
Calgary Councillor Sean Chu says he's got no intention of resigning, but he has apologized to a woman he had a sexual encounter with 24 years ago. Chu served as a Calgary police officer from 1992 until he was elected in 2013.
Transcript
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Hello, I'm Dave Naylor, the news editor of the Western Standard.
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Embattled Calgary Councillor Sean Chu says he's got no intention of resigning,
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but he has apologized to a woman he had a sexual encounter with 24 years ago.
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Chu told the Western Standard in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
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City officials confirmed Chu had won the election race in Ward 4 by a mere 52 votes after allegations
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surfaced last week of his involvement in August of 1997 with a girl who was just 16 at the time.
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This was nothing but a political assassination, Chu told me.
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Chu, who has represented Ward 4 since 2013, also fired back at some media reports which he claims
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were completely wrong. Chu said he met the unidentified girl at a pub on McLeod Trail near 94th Avenue South
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and not the Husky House restaurant downtown where some media had reported.
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Because it was a licensed establishment, I thought the girl was at least 18 years old,
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said Chu, who was in his uniform and with his partner at the time.
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I was single and I thought some girl liked me, Chu said.
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The Western Standard cannot confirm at this time if there is a documentary evidence of the encounter,
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that the encounter was at the Husky House or at the pub on McLeod Trail.
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At some point in the interaction, Chu caressed the girl's leg, an incident that later earned him a
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letter of reprimand on his file. Chu said the girl seemed interested in him, so when he was off duty,
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he went home, changed into civilian clothes and went back to the pub to meet her. The evening
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continued with Chu and the girl eventually heading to his house. Once there, the pair started, quote,
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kissing and hugging. But there was no intercourse, said Chu. He did admit there was some, quote,
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touching beneath clothes. Chu told me she then said she wanted to go home and I drove her straight there.
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Chu denied media reports that a gun had been produced during the evening at the home.
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He said he had checked his service weapon in at the police traffic office when he signed off duty.
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At one point, Chu said he owned a shotgun but denied that weapon was ever produced or shown
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in any way that night. He told me, quote, if there had been a gun involved, there would have been
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charges against me. The Western Standard has not seen any documents that indicate the presence
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or absence of a firearm on the evening in question. Chu says he does not drink but added he did not know
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if the girl had been drinking that evening. After the incident, the girl reported the case to city
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police claiming she was sexually assaulted. That led to nine years of investigations, court battles and
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appeals, with news of the case only leaking last week, days before the election. There was never any
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sexual assault or weapons charges laid and Chu says the letter of reprimand was the only discipline
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that came out of the entire process. That stayed on his file for five years and was eventually removed.
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Documents obtained by the Western Standard and other media indicate that the woman claimed the whole
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process was, quote, a cover-up. Chu served as a Calgary police officer from 1992 until he was elected in 2013.
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Chu is now at the center of a political storm, with friends and supporters deserting him.
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Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel-Garner tweeted her disgust at the incident. She tweeted, quote,
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I have supported Mr. Chu in the past, but firmly withdraw all such report in light of these reports.
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Believing the women means walking the talk. She continued, in light of the disciplinary action as a
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result of inappropriate contact with a minor, MP Rempel-Garner is formally withdrawing
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her endorsement of Councillor Sean Chu and he will no longer be a member of her community association.
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Now Chu is looking at his legal options and a possible defamation lawsuit over what he calls some
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of the false reporting. He told me, I have always told the truth. My reputation is important to me
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and now my family is hurting. Chu said he wouldn't comment on remarks made by New Calgary Mayor
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Jyoti Gondek that she will try and have him removed from Council. He said, quote, I will continue to tell
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the truth at Council and will be a fiscal hawk. The most important thing is I told the truth and the
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truth will prevail. It appears any bid to try and remove Chu from Council would fail because he was not
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charged or convicted criminally. For the Western Standard, I'm news editor Dave Naylor. Good afternoon.