Former BC Mounted Police Engaged in Disgraceful Conduct in Homicide Investigation: OPCC Report | Globalnews.ca

A BC police officer who had been banned from communicating with a witness in a homicide investigation but allegedly wrote him a letter anyway has now been found guilty of disgraceful conduct, according to the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner. of BC.

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A retired judge has now been appointed to review Brian Gateley’s case, after the police complaints commissioner found that a one-day unpaid suspension “is not proportionate to the seriousness of the misconduct”.

The matter stems from the case of Arlene Westervelt, who died while canoeing with her husband Bert Westervelt on Okanagan Lake in 2016.

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Gateley, the officer in question, knew Bert and allegedly had Arlene’s cell phone hacked at her request using RCMP resources.

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Bert was later charged with the second-degree murder of Arlene in 2019, though that charge was later dropped. He has always maintained his innocence.

Eventually, Gateley’s actions would be the subject of an internal RCMP investigation. Global News obtained a copy of the letter of conduct that alleged Gateley had unlocked Arlene’s phone using a tool called “Cellebrite” for “personal or unauthorized reasons.”

He was also accused of giving his personal opinion to investigators in a possible conflict of interest.

Gateley has previously denied any wrongdoing.

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In the letter he allegedly sent to Arlene’s sister, Debbie Hennig, Gateley admitted to hacking the phone, but said he only did so after being assured by investigators that Arlene’s death was being treated as an accident.

In response to a civil lawsuit brought by Arlene’s family, the government said that on February 1, 2019, the RCMP found Gateley guilty of engaging in a potential conflict of interest and misusing RCMP IT equipment.

A month later, Gateley retired from the RCMP, according to his civil court documents. He also noted that there was a “perception of conflict of interest; no actual or potential conflict of interest was identified,” in its response to the civil lawsuit.

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The former Mountie then got a job with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU), also known as BC’s anti-gang agency. He worked at the Organized Crime Agency.

According to the OPCC case file, Gateley’s supervisors met with him in December 2020 and warned him not to have contact with any witnesses in the investigation of Arlene’s death.

Gateley allegedly wrote the letter explaining his side of the story to Arlene’s sister two months later.

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The Vancouver Police Department was appointed to investigate Gateley’s actions.

It found that Gateley engaged in disgraceful conduct when he “communicated with a witness in a homicide investigation in contravention of the direct orders of superior officers and supervisors,” according to the OPCC report.

“The disciplinary authority pointed out that Sgt. Gateley was a 34-year police veteran, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police employee, and had ‘minimized his role’ in the alleged misconduct by repeatedly stating that he had never disobeyed instructions given to him.” says the OPCC report.

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After the Vancouver Police Department suggested a one-day suspension, the Police Complaints Commissioner wrote: “The low level of disciplinary and corrective action proposed by the disciplinary authority is not commensurate with the seriousness of the misconduct across the board. circumstances, including the planned and premeditated decision to ignore the indications of his superiors in the context of his experience and the serious circumstances of the matter.

The OPCC report also stated that Gateley accepted the facts and the disciplinary authority’s conclusions.

Retired Provincial Court Judge James Threlfall has been appointed as adjudicator in the upcoming proceedings.

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Meanwhile, there are also questions as to why Gateley was hired at CFSEU ​​after his alleged RCMP misconduct.

Gateley’s letter of conduct was signed by the assistant. Com. Kevin Hackett, who was also the director of the BC Organized Crime Agency at the time. That’s where Gateley got her next job.

According to a report to the Organized Crime Agency board, there was a subsequent complaint about the adequacy of their investigative process.

The report said an in-depth review found the selection committee followed Organized Crime Agency policies.

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“The selection committee was made up of a hiring manager, a supervisor, and a human resources representative as specified in the policy, none of whom were on the governing board,” the report says.

“The members of the selection committee were unaware that the officer had unresolved code of conduct charges.”

The report also noted that the organized crime agency has changed its hiring policies and now requires reference checks for internal and external candidates. He said that in this case, no reference checks were performed on Gateley.

“In response to the investigation of this complaint, the Organized Crime Agency of BC (OCABC) is also adopting the practice of requiring applicants for employment at OCABC to sign a waiver to consent to the release of their personal information, including their registration. of service discipline and ongoing complaints or complaints about the code of conduct or the Police Act,” the report says.

Gateley has not yet responded to a request for comment.

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