Suspended Christchurch police officer spends years on full pay awaiting trial
Saturday, 18 July 2026
A Christchurch police officer accused of theft has been suspended on full pay for at least three years while she awaits trial, costing NZ Police hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A new disciplinary policy allowing police to suspend employees without pay could end such payments to others in this situation.
Brearna Kelsi Sloss, an acting sergeant, was stood down in 2022 after she allegedly stole money handed in by members of the public and was accused of entering false computer records to conceal it. She has denied the claims.
Four years later, she is still awaiting a chance to defend herself at trial on 26 charges - 15 of theft by a person in a special relationship and 11 of accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose, which allegedly occurred between late 2021 to 2022. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The Christchurch District Court trial is set down for next month, after it was abandoned part-way through last September due to a legal issue.
NZ Police data shows that one police officer who had been on suspension for three years had been paid close to $260,000 by June 9, 2025. The Press has learnt that officer is Sloss.
Police are refusing to say if Sloss has continued to receive full pay in the year since.
However, the Police Association union said amendments to Police’s Employment Resolutions and Disciplinary Policy came into effect on Monday this week. These changes allow NZ Police to suspend employees without pay where Code of Conduct breaches serious enough to lead to dismissal had been alleged.
It would also allow NZ Police to suspend employees without pay if they faced criminal charges which, if proven, could lead to imprisonment or dismissal, or where bail conditions prevented an employee from working.
The police union was concerned by the change.
Police Association president Steve Watt said the policy would apply to staff currently on suspension, but certain criteria would have to be met.
Under the new policy, a two-stage assessment is required before suspension without pay can be imposed, there will be regular reviews of suspension-without-pay decisions, and NZ Police may consider compensation where an employee is not dismissed at the conclusion of the employment process.
The association’s senior legal officer Harley Dwyer said the new policy could leave members facing serious financial hardship while investigations ran their course.
“The impact on members – members who have yet to be proven guilty of anything – could be severe. They will inevitably face extreme hardship if their income ceases.”
Last July The Post revealed 15 police staff were on full pay while suspended. The issues included allegations of illegal behaviour on and off duty, as well as before joining the police. Sloss was not named in the list, but was among them.
Canterbury’s District Commander Superintendent Tony Hill said police would not comment on Sloss nor her pay as the matter was before the courts and police had privacy obligations to employees.
The last report of a Christchurch police officer to receive hundreds of thousands of pay while under investigation was Gordon Stanley Meyer.
He was paid at least $150,000 to stay at home during the two years he was investigated in 2013 for sexual offending on the job.
Leigh MacDonald, chief people officer at NZ Police, said the organisation was strengthening its disciplinary policy by widening the scope for instances where employees could be placed on unpaid suspension.