Grievance Case Summary - G-313

The grievance concerns a decision to deny legal representation at public expense to the Grievor so that he could defend himself against a criminal charge of dangerous driving. Three 12-year old students from an elementary school were offered an opportunity to participate in a "ride along" with an RCMP member. Their parents were told that the ride-along would give them an opportunity "to experience first-hand what the police do". They signed consent forms for this activity which included waiving liability for the Force in the event of injury to their child. At least once during the ride-along, the Grievor pursued a vehicle that was speeding. He acknowledged that, in that pursuit, he travelled at a speed of up to 200 kilometres per hour. That information was relayed by the students to their parents which is what led to the Grievor being criminally charged. The Grievor defended his actions by indicating that he was trying to clock vehicles that appeared to be speeding. He indicated that his superiors had repeatedly urged members of the Highway Patrol unit to become more aggressive in ticketing drivers who exceeded the speeding limit and even set a minimum threshold in terms of the number of tickets to be issued. The Grievor noted that he not yet attained that threshold when he was out patrolling with the three students. He maintained that he had not placed the safety of the students at risk because there were no other vehicles on the road, he was on a straight stretch of road, there was no weaving in and out and he did not travel at 200 km/h for more than a few seconds. The grievance was denied at Level I because the Grievor had failed to shift his focus "from absolute enforcement to that of eliminating risks and ensuring the protection of the lives entrusted to him".

The Grievor's position is puzzling given that he acknowledged during a disciplinary proceeding arising out of the same matter that his conduct had been disgraceful and was susceptible of bringing discredit upon the Force. In any event, it was unnecessary for the Force to spell out its expectations in writing insofar as concerns the circumstances where it was appropriate for members to travel at speeds of 200 km/h. The single most important factor influencing the determination as to why it was unreasonable for the Grievor to travel as fast as he did was that there were children in his vehicle. The Grievor was not as sensitive as he ought to have been to the impressions that his actions might convey to others and, in particular, to the parents of the children. Even though the Grievor may have been instructed to continue performing his duties as he would normally, he should have realized that there were certain risks that he had to avoid taking so as not to upset the parents of his child passengers.

The grievance should be denied.

The Commissioner agreed with the findings and recommendations of the Committee and denied the grievance.