RCMP civilian member sues employer for lengthy investigation

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This article was published 31/08/2023 (1130 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An RCMP criminal intelligence analyst formerly based in Winnipeg is suing the Mounties and a former co-worker, claiming he suffered as a result of an 11-month internal investigation that didn’t result in any findings of misconduct against him.

The civilian member of the RCMP accepted a work-from-home transfer to Ottawa in December “as a result of the continued impact of the (sic) allegations were having on his career and mental well-being,” and is now going after the national police force, Attorney General of Canada, and the plaintiff’s co-worker, according to a statement of claim filed Aug. 22 in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench.

He’s accusing a female co-worker of defamation for reporting sexual harassment allegations against him, and argues the RCMP breached its duty to investigate in a timely manner and keep the details of the file “reasonably private.”

None of the allegations has been proven, and the Free Press is choosing not to publish the names of any of the RCMP members involved.

The male civilian member has worked for the RCMP for 26 years. He was suspended in late February 2020, pending an investigation into allegations he’d violated the RCMP’s code of conduct.

He was accused of being rude, swearing, and making demeaning comments about his co-workers, making “repeated inappropriate and unprofessional comments that were sexual in nature” to a female co-worker, misusing police databases and disclosing confidential information to unauthorized individuals.

He was also subjected to a full security review, in addition to the misconduct investigation.

All of the allegations against him, the RCMP member claims, were made by the female co-worker he’s now suing for defamation. He claims she is also responsible for a subsequent access-to-information request that inquired about a sexual harassment investigation inside his department, after he was cleared of misconduct allegations.

The sexual harassment allegations included the male employee telling his female co-worker, unprompted, he’d had a sex dream about her, and on another occasion telling her he’d been discussing how attractive she was with a new RCMP member.

The man denied all of the allegations, including misusing police databases, arguing a friend had provided him with information and not the other way around.

The investigation concluded none of the allegations had been substantiated, and his suspension was lifted in early February 2021.

The RCMP is supposed to complete misconduct investigations within 90 days, but took more than 11 months to come to a decision in the case without a reason for the delay, the employee argues.

A few months later, after he was appointed acting supervisor of the department, the female co-worker named in the lawsuit went on leave. He was later informed the woman’s doctor had approved a restriction stating he couldn’t have contact with her, directly or indirectly.

He accepted the transfer to Ottawa shortly afterward, according to the claim, because he was feeling ostracized from his co-workers.

“This was a major change in his life, and not one made on his own terms,” the claim states.

Part of the claim is for damages over lost overtime hours. The RCMP civilian member argues the work-from-home transfer cost him $15,000-$18,000 in lost opportunities to work OT, and says he spent $1,000 on renovations to enable him to work from home.

The court documents also accuse the RCMP of disseminating emails that brought details of the investigation to the attention of the man’s co-workers.

No statements of defence had yet been filed.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca