Richmond RCMP to lead investigation into Mountie sex photo scandal
Richmond RCMP are handling the investigation into whether a Coquitlam Mountie broke the RCMP’s code of conduct.
In December 2010, Mounties at the Coquitlam detachment became aware of “the existence of some graphic staged photos in December 2010.” The photos, which were later discovered on an adult festish website, include a knife-wielding naked man and a woman in bondage.
Assistant Commissioner Randy Beck, the Acting Commanding Officer for BC RCMP, said the officer in charge in Coquitlam believed the images “existed only on the member’s personal flash drive and thus, after consultation, he did not believe it met the threshold for a Code of Conduct violation.”
“In March of this year, during an unrelated investigation, the Officer in Charge learned that the photos were on a personal website. At that time he began another investigation and the photos were subsequently removed,” Beck said in a statement released today.
“As this situation evolved and additional information came to my attention, a code of conduct was ordered and that investigation is being led by the Richmond RCMP. In keeping with the RCMP’s commitment to hold our members to a higher standard, I am taking the unusual step of asking an external police agency to independently review our internal Code of Conduct investigation.”
The officer has been identified in various media reports as Cpl. Jim Brown.
“While we must strike a balance between an individual’s rights and freedoms when off duty and the RCMP Code of Conduct, I am personally embarrassed and very disappointed that the RCMP would be, in any way, linked to photos of that nature,” Beck said.
In May, a leaked memo from RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson warned the RCMP would soon be rocked by more revelations of officer misconduct. This follows the transfer to B.C. of Sgt. Donald Ray, a disgraced officer from Alberta, who was internally found guilty of sexual misconduct with female officers but not fired and reportedly set to work in a federal RCMP office in Surrey
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