D-073 - Adjudication Board Decision

The Appellant appealed the decision of the Adjudication Board ordering him to resign for breaching the RCMP's Code of Conduct. In this case, the member was pursuing a dangerously driven vehicle. At that time, the Appellant was off duty and was driving his private car. He then hit another vehicle and had to stop, at which point he drew his service weapon and pointed it at the vehicle he was initially pursuing.

The Appellant's representative presented the following grounds of appeal. First, he criticized the Adjudication Board for not having attached enough importance to the dangerous driving of the vehicle pursued by the Appellant. The second ground concerns the relevance of the Appellant's disciplinary history. He indicated that the Board was unwarranted in considering this history since the Adjudication Board did not know the context in which these events happened and they were not of the same nature as the current incident. Third, the Appellant's representative submitted that the sanction imposed was disproportionate.

The Respondent's representative challenged all the grounds of appeal and submitted that there was some similarity between the Appellant's entire discipline file and the current matter, i.e. the Appellant's tendency to lose his temper.

On June 13, 2001, the ERC issued its findings and recommendations. The Committee concluded that neither the Appellant's disciplinary history, nor the severity of the incident in themselves justify the decision to order the Appellant to resign. However, evidence does clearly and convincingly indicate that the Appellant is not likely to radically change the attitude he so often has displayed during the second half of his career at the RCMP. The Committee found that, even without knowing all the circumstances surrounding the Appellant's disciplinary history, it is possible to conclude that the multiple warnings he was given to pay more attention to his conduct towards the public did not produce the expected results.

The Committee recommended that the appeal be denied.

On July 26, 2001, the Commissioner rendered his decision. The Commissioner agreed with ERC's recommendations and ordered the member to resign within 14 days or else he will be discharged.