Vice-Chair's Final Report – Incident Related to Neglect of Duty

RCMP Act Subsection 45.42(2)

Vetted version for posting

September 2, 2008

Overview

On October 11, 2005, Mr. A and others were identified as shoplifters by the security staff at the Zellers store in Sherwood Park, Alberta. Constable B of the RCMP Strathcona County Alberta Detachment investigated the matter. Although a criminal charge was laid against Mr. A, it was dismissed in court on May 17, 2007, when the Crown prosecutor chose not to proceed.

On July 17, 2007, Mr. A complained to the RCMP with respect to the conduct of Constable B. In the RCMP complaint form signed by Mr. A on that same day, it is alleged that Constable B neglected his duty by failing to properly and thoroughly investigate the complaint, which led to the laying of a criminal charge.

Pursuant to the RCMP Act (the Act), the complaint was investigated by the RCMP. According to the Act, on completion of the investigation the RCMP Commissioner (or his delegate) shall send his Final Report to the complainant summarizing the results of the investigation and any action taken to resolve the complaint. In this case, the RCMP Final Report dated January 21, 2008, supported Mr. A's allegations.

On May 23, 2008, the Commission received Mr. A's request to review the matter. Mr. A was not satisfied with the RCMP's handling of his complaint and reframed his "original" allegations against Constable B for falsifying a police report, falsifying court documents, failing to provide disclosure, and breach of trust. In his request for review Mr. A also requested that the public complaint investigator be investigated for breach of trust. The Commission received the investigation documents from the RCMP on June 13, 2008.

For the reasons stated below, I support the findings made by the RCMP with respect to Constable B's conduct and the measures taken to address the issue. I have also reviewed Mr. A's "original allegations" and find that they are not supported by the public complaint investigation, which was handled in a highly professional and thorough manner.

Commission's Review of the Complaint

It is important to note that the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP is an agency of the federal government, distinct and independent from the RCMP. When reviewing a complaint, the Commission does not act as an advocate for either the complainant or RCMP members. Rather, its role is to inquire into complaints independently and to reach conclusions after an objective examination of the information provided.

My findings, as indicated below, are based on a thorough and careful examination of the documentation. This includes Mr. A's complaint and further correspondence he provided the Commission, the RCMP operational file, the public complaint investigation report, the RCMP Final Report, and other relevant materials.

First Allegation: Constable B neglected his duty by failing to properly and thoroughly investigate the complaint from Zellers, which led to Mr. A being charged criminally and a public interest arrest warrant being obtained.

Following its public complaint investigation the RCMP found that Constable B failed to properly investigate this matter. The RCMP's Final Report clearly set out that Constable B did not attempt to take cautioned statements from all the accused persons involved in this case, including Mr. A. Furthermore, the RCMP's Final Report found that during the course of his investigation Constable B did not seize the original security videotape and secure it as evidence. This resulted in the integrity of the tape being compromised, which led to delays in the court proceedings between June 14, 2006, and May 30, 2007.

The signatory of the RCMP's Final Report, the Officer in Charge of Strathcona County RCMP, apologized to Mr. A, on behalf of the RCMP, for the actions of Constable B. Furthermore, the Officer in Charge of Strathcona County RCMP Detachment discussed the shortcomings of the investigation with Constable B. Constable B was also provided with written operational guidance. The matter was also discussed with Constable B's supervisor, who will monitor the documentation and timelines of Mr. A's investigations more closely.

In addition, the RCMP undertook to modify the investigational file to accurately reflect the involvement of all parties relevant to this case, clearly setting out that the criminal charges against Mr. A were dismissed. The signatory of the RCMP's Final Report also undertook to request that Mr. A's fingerprints be destroyed.

My review of the evidence leads me to the same conclusion as the RCMP with respect to the conduct of Constable B. As such, I also find that Constable B neglected his duty by failing to properly and thoroughly investigate the complaint against Mr. A. Furthermore, I agree with the measures taken by the RCMP to address this issue.

Second Allegation: The RCMP failed to properly investigate Mr. A's "original" public complaint.

After Mr. A received the RCMP's Final Report, he contacted the Commission indicating that he was not satisfied with the way the public complaint investigator had dealt with his "original" complaint. According to Mr. A, the public complaint investigator refused to accept his complaint as originally set out and reformatted his complaint to reflect neglect of duty. According to Mr. A, his original allegations against Constable B were for falsifying a police report, falsifying court documents, failing to provide disclosure, and breach of trust.

There is nothing in the file to demonstrate that the public complaint investigator refused and reformatted Mr. A's complaint. It is important to note that Mr. A signed the RCMP Public Complaint (Form 4110), which set out the complaint to be investigated. Furthermore, I am of the view that the public complaint investigation went beyond the allegations as set out by Mr. A in his letter to the Commission dated May 5, 2008.

Mr. A claims that in his "original" complaint he alleged that Constable B falsified police reports and court documents. In reviewing the public complaint investigation report and relevant material I note that the public complaint investigator noted that there were factual errors in the General Report prepared by Constable B, which was included in the Court Package. That being said, there is simply no evidence to lead one to conclude that Constable B knowingly falsified a police report or court documents. Furthermore, the shortcomings in his investigation were addressed with him, and his work is now subject to even closer supervision.

With respect to Mr. A's "original" allegation that Constable B failed to provide disclosure, this is also addressed in the Final Report, where it states that Constable B failed to secure the video evidence in an unedited format. When Mr. A's counsel requested a copy of the video surveillance tape from the Crown Prosecutor's Office, he received a handwritten notation stating that the RCMP advised that there was no footage involved in the case. The response provided is another indication of the shortcomings of the investigation conducted by Constable B and the fact that he failed to secure an unedited copy of the video surveillance tape. This matter was also addressed in the RCMP Final Report.

I am satisfied that Mr. A's "original" allegations were adequately addressed in the public complaint investigation, including his claim of breach of trust. The RCMP provided Mr. A with an apology and a very detailed description of all the measures that have been taken with respect to Constable B. In addition to this, the RCMP undertook to modify the RCMP investigational file and to request that Mr. A's fingerprints be destroyed.

In light of the foregoing I find that the RCMP addressed Mr. A's complaint in a highly professional and thorough manner.

Finding: The RCMP addressed Mr. A's public complaint in a highly efficient, professional and thorough manner.

Pursuant to subsection 45.42(2) of the RCMP Act, I respectfully submit my Final Report and, accordingly, the Commission's mandate in this matter is ended.

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Brooke McNabb
Vice-Chair