D-106 - Adjudication Board Decision

The Member admitted his misconduct in an Agreed Statement of Facts ("ASF"). The ASF stated that the Member stole a quantity of marijuana from his brother, possessed it for approximately six months, and smoked some of it on four or five occasions over a period of four to six months. He then lost his wallet which contained the marijuana, drug paraphernalia, three unspent bullets, and his identification. A Canada Post employee found the wallet and turned it in to a police force who then contacted the RCMP. When confronted by RCMP officers, the Member confirmed ownership of the wallet and bullets, but denied ownership of the marijuana and paraphernalia. The Member continued to lie to investigating officers on a number of occasions over a one-month period, implicated his brother, and had his brother lie to police. The Member eventually admitted to the possession and the deceptions after taking a polygraph test.

The Board found the conduct to be disgraceful and directed that the Member resign within fourteen days or be dismissed. It found that the Member "chose to follow a self-serving route of deception" and that he "perpetuated the deceit by callously counseling his brother into what amounted to a premeditated Public Mischief". The Board found that the Member's stressful personal circumstances did not justify his actions, and that he had breached an essential part of the employment contract: the need for trust and accountability. The Member appealed the decision on sanction.

The Committee found that the Board's findings of fact were reasonably supported by the evidence, that there were no errors in the Board's assessment of the expert evidence, and no manifest errors in how the Board considered or weighed the evidence. It also found that the Board did not violate the principle of parity of sanction as there were no sufficiently similar cases that established a pattern of discipline, nor did the Board fail to impose the least onerous appropriate sanction.

The Committee recommended that the Commissioner of the RCMP dismiss the appeal.

In September 2008, the member withdrew his appeal before the Commissioner could render a decision in this matter.