'Undignified and silly': RCMP conduct board accused of bias over 'Three Amigos' references
Coquitlam Mounties accused of making sexist and racist comments claim hearing credibility in doubt
The members of an RCMP conduct board sat stone-faced Wednesday as a lawyer for three Mounties facing allegations of racism and sexism accused them of "undignified and silly" behaviour by referring to his clients as "the Three Amigos" in emails and file names.
Wes Dutcher-Walls asked the tribunal members to recuse themselves from the case — claiming the Three Amigos references conjure up connotations including loud-mouthed tourists, a slapstick 1986 movie and the "all-for-one-and-one-for-all" brotherhood of the Three Musketeers.
The lawyer claimed the board members had created the appearance of "real or perceived" bias that suggested a broader pattern of skepticism and dismissiveness toward Coquitlam RCMP Constables Philip Dick, Ian Solven and Mersad Mesbah.
"I can imagine that you are angry at me for bringing this allegation," Dutcher-Walls told the board members before telling them that he could "take it" if they were.
"You don't need to go on record and say, 'Actually I am biased' … You can just say a reasonable person might perceive bias.... Please do the right thing … remove yourself."
'Tasering unarmed Black people'
Code of conduct hearings against Dick, Mesbah and Solven were slated to begin in Surrey this week, but were delayed after the last minute recusal application. The board members are expected to decide on Friday morning whether to step aside.
The RCMP wants all three Mounties fired for their alleged involvement in private chat group conversations in which officers are accused of bragging about "Tasering unarmed Black people," calling a sexual assault investigation "stupid" and mocking the body of a new female employee.
Those allegations came to light last fall after the release of a search warrant recounting behaviour which led the officer who sparked the investigation to complain to RCMP brass about what he saw as "atrocious" and "racist and horrible" activity by his colleagues.
The court documents claim investigators also reviewed 600,000 messages posted to the RCMP's internal mobile data chat logs — finding evidence of "frequently offensive" usage by the three officers facing termination for "homophobic and racist slurs."
"The reviewers had identified a variety of comments that were 'chauvinist in nature, with a strong air of superiority, and include flippant or insulting remarks about clients (including objectifying women), supervisors, colleagues, policy and the RCMP as a whole,'" the search warrant said.
'How far are we going to take this?'
The three Mounties have denied the allegations against them.
They sat side by side behind their lawyers Wednesday as Dutcher-Walls traded barbs with RCMP lawyer John McLaughlan, who said there was "no substantive evidence" to say the word "Amigos" was meant to convey anything beyond its Spanish meaning — "friends."
"Here we go again," McLaughlan said at the outset of his reply, mocking Dutcher-Walls for including a Three Amigos movie poster in his submissions.
The RCMP lawyer noted — as did Dutcher-Walls — that Amigo also happens to be the name of a pancake house in Port Coquitlam that was a popular meeting place for RCMP officers.
"How far are we going to take this?" McLaughlan asked.
"There's a TV show called Friends"
McLaughlan accused Dutcher-Walls of mounting an 11th-hour attempt designed to sidestep previous decisions of the board. He also said the 'Three Amigos' line of attack came about as the result of a "fishing expedition" through the board's files.
'The 11th hour is always a good time'
Dutcher-Walls claimed the information arose in recent rounds of disclosure where it emerged the term Three Amigos had come up in meeting invitations and in emails between staff and board members. He said the term was also attached to a file folder about the case.
"It is part of the vernacular of the way this board has come to refer to the matter," the lawyer said.
"This case has had a long history. I can only imagine how many times you have looked at that folder."
Dutcher-Walls told the board he "would be very surprised if you came out and admitted that you don't like my clients" but said the tribunal's members' own conduct had cast a "pall of potential bias" over the hearing.
"The 11th hour is always a good time for the appearance of fairness," he said.
"At this point, the fish has jumped out of the water an into our boat and the conduct authorities are asking us to just ignore that and keep canoeing. It is not a fishing expedition."
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