RCMP hearings need independent oversight, says lawyer
CBC News
Posted: Feb 8, 2012 12:47 PM PT
Last Updated: Feb 8, 2012 4:49 PM PT
The lawyer for a female British Columbia Mountie who accused her boss of sexual assault says RCMP disciplinary hearings should be subject to independent oversight.
Walter Kosteckyj says he is unhappy with the easy ride he believes the police force is giving Const. Susan Gastaldo's superior, Staff Sgt. Travis Pearson.
Pearson admitted to using his patrol car and police Blackberry smartphone to carry on an extramarital affair with Gastaldo in 2009, while he was her superior.
Last month, RCMP adjudicators rejected Gastaldo's allegations the affair amounted to rape because Pearson used his position of authority to coerce her. It found the sex was consensual.
But during a break at Pearson's disciplinary hearing in Vancouver on Wednesday, Kosteckyj accused the adjudication panel of bias.
"There should be an independent tribunal that takes a look at these things, which is really made up of people outside the RCMP," he said.
Kosteckyj is also upset the RCMP has allowed Pearson's own psychologist to testify on his behalf when it already had a report from an independent expert, whose evidence he believes was disregarded.
The adjudicators have found both officers guilty of disgraceful conduct for having sex in a police car and misusing RCMP equipment to send romantic text messages.
While Pearson is facing sanctions ranging from suspension to a demotion, Gastaldo could lose her job.
With files from the CBC's Mike ClarkeShare Tools
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