The Cape Breton Post: Local News | Wagmatcook ends contract with RCMP, accepts regional police proposal

The Cape Breton Post: Local News Wagmatcook ends contract with RCMP, accepts regional police proposal

Here are some typical small sample only reasons for other regions to do the same.....

In September 2005, off-duty Constable Michael Dudas entered a McDonald’s restaurant drive-through lane and instigated an angry verbal exchange with three young pedestrians placing an order in front of him. In what an RCMP adjudication board called “a sudden and violent attack,” Const. Dudas left his truck, grabbed one of the young women and punched her in the face. She fell to the ground where she lay “bleeding profusely.” Four of her teeth were fractured as a result of the attack. The constable returned to his truck and left the scene without offering any assistance to his victim. He pleaded guilty in provincial court to common assault and received a suspended sentence with a one-year probation order. In June 2008 the RCMP adjudication board docked him 10 days pay. Const. Dudas remains on active duty in the National Capital Region.






• E Division: Burnaby, B.C.

In June 2007, an off-duty constable collided his car into another vehicle, which flipped over and landed on its side. The driver of the second vehicle suffered a fractured collarbone. The constable did not offer the injured person assistance; instead, he drove home. On-duty RCMP officers attended his home and found him in a state of impairment. The constable attributed this to consumption of pain relief medication that contained alcohol. In March 2009, he was docked 10 days pay. He remains on active duty in the Lower Mainland.



• O Division: Niagara Falls

Over a six-month period in 2007, a sergeant made 53 cash advance withdrawals using his RCMP-issued American Express charge card. The unauthorized withdrawals were made at casinos and other gambling facilities in Canada and in the United States; 27 were made while the sergeant was on duty. In May 2007, an RCMP accounting services employee warned him not to make cash withdrawals for personal use. Ultimately he did not heed the warning.

In April 2008 he admitted to using the cash advances (approximately $4,900) to gamble. He also admitted that he used RCMP vehicles to attend casinos and other gambling establishments while on duty.

In a July 2008 adjudication board decision his sanction was forfeiture of eight days pay. It was not determined that the sergeant had effectively dealt with his “gambling problem,” the adjudication board advised. The sergeant was transferred to Vancouver where he is assigned to 2010 Olympic Winter Games security duty.

(Two other RCMP officers were sanctioned in 2008 for using RCMP-issued American Express cards to make unauthorized cash withdrawals and using the cash to gamble inside casinos. The most severe sanction was forfeiture of seven days pay.)



On October 11, 2007 Constable Guy Jacques abandoned his security unit post at Rideau Hall and left Governor-General Michaëlle Jean and her family without an RCMP security presence. Const. Jacques left Rideau Hall in an RCMP vehicle and played hockey for one hour. He then drove to a cemetery, then a hospital and later disrupted and caused the delay of a Gatineau Police Service surveillance and search operation by driving through a targeted area “about 20 times.” In a separate infraction, Const. Jacques used his RCMP-issued cellphone to make personal long-distance calls to his girlfriend, friends and family members. He was sanctioned in April 2009 and was docked a total of seven days pay. He remains on active duty in the National Capital Region.



• K Division: Picture Butte, Alta.

In May 2005, the constable left a threatening voicemail for his estranged wife, an emergency room nurse who lived with their disabled daughter and their son. In his message, the constable said “today is the first time I have woken up without wanting to kill you,” or words to that effect. He also harassed his estranged wife by text-messaging her incessantly over an eight-month period. The constable was found to have made inappropriate police computer queries about his estranged wife and about individuals associated with her. In June 2008, the constable was docked a total of 21 days pay and it was recommended that he seek professional counselling. He now works from the Gleichen, Alta detachment



• E Division: Lower Mainland, B.C.

While on vacation with his family in June 2007, a constable entered a hospital in Washington state and asked for prescription drugs used for anxiety and panic disorders. He refused to identify himself to hospital staff. He said he worked for the Government of Canada and was involved with international anti-terrorism enforcement. The constable said if he did not leave the hospital with prescription drugs he would miss a meeting. In that case, he said, “buildings could be blown up and other bad things could happen.”

Staff found him to be very confused and perhaps intoxicated. When local police arrived to deal with him, the constable identified himself. He was released into the care of his brother.

Two days later in Surrey, B.C., the constable knocked on a woman’s door and identified himself as an RCMP officer. His head was bleeding and he was unsteady on his feet. He was also described as “sniffling and sneezing profusely.” He asked the woman a number of inappropriate questions about her house, including its value and its contents. The woman felt threatened by the constable. At a co-worker’s urging, she called police the following evening.

Both incidents were related to the constable’s addiction to prescription drugs including pain medication, an RCMP adjudication board decided in January 2009. He was ordered to forfeit four days pay and it was recommended that he continue to receive professional counselling. According to the adjudication board decision, “the member has recent prior discipline for similar conduct which also involved police intervention.” The constable remains on active duty in the Lower Mainland.



• E Division: Kugluktuk, Nunavut

Off-duty one day in September 2006, a constable drove around Kuglutuk in his RCMP cruiser, looking for an 11-year-old boy who had allegedly assaulted his nine-year-old stepson. The constable’s wife was also in the police vehicle, along with the stepson and an infant son. The 11-year-old was spotted and the constable’s wife left the cruiser and grabbed him. She then invited her son to punch the 11-year-old, which he did, striking him on his left cheek, his nose and his stomach. The 11-year-old was bloodied. The constable’s wife and her son returned to the police cruiser and the constable drove away without offering assistance to his wife’s assault victim. In 2007, the constable’s wife pleaded guilty in court to assault; the constable was not charged. In March 2008, an RCMP adjudication board sanctioned the constable. He was docked four days pay. He remains on active duty.