Outgoing British Columbia Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth has condemned the actions of Coquitlam RCMP officers accused of making racist, homophobic and sexist comments in a private online chat group.
CBC News revealed allegations from a search warrant on Friday that led to disciplinary action against three gendarmes.
The three officers are subject to dismissal proceedings and have been suspended since June 2021. Hearings into their conduct have been postponed until March 2025.
The outgoing Minister of Public Security, Mike Farnworthspoke before the legislature was dissolved. Running for re-election in the Port Coquitlam riding where the accused officers worked, he expressed disgust at the comments revealed in the case, calling them absolutely unacceptable
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Mr. Farnworth added that the GRC will conduct a thorough investigation and review the cases handled by the three officers.
This is absolutely unacceptable. Frankly, this is not the behavior we expect or accept anywhere.
The National Police Federation, which represents police officers GRC nationwide, declined to comment for this article when CBC News contacted her.
“Unfortunately predictable” comments
Among the details of the search warrant, it was revealed that an officer facing disciplinary action joked about a domestic violence victim, calling her a stupid bitch, who should have worn a mouth guard
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Angela Marie MacDougall, who heads the Women’s Crisis Services, said the conduct described in the disciplinary proceedings demonstrates that police are not an effective resource when it comes to intimate partner violence.
Photo: Radio-Canada
Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director of Battered Women’s Services, criticized the comments, calling them: unfortunately predictable
and said they discourage victims from reporting abuse.
We see in our own work that many members of the GRC have ideas that are not conducive to effective investigations and consideration of victims and survivors.
She argued that funding should be shifted from the police to community organizations such as halfway houses and victim services.
A “recruitment difficulty”
Rick Parenta retired Simon Fraser University professor and former police officer, said the conversations under investigation highlight the recruiting challenges facing B.C.’s police force.
According to the professor, competition among police forces for qualified candidates leads to the hiring of people who should not be agents
. He added that past behavior often predicts future actions, and that the supervision cannot rectify everything
.
Mr. Parent concluded that all cases that the agents worked on must be examined, but that the vast majority of the agents in the GRC from Coquitlam did a good job.
A lawyer for one of the accused officers did not respond to an email seeking comment, and the other officers could not be reached.
With information from Akshay Kulkarni
