Keith Fraser (Vancouver Province) – A Surrey Mountie believed that his estranged brother may be a person of interest in a September 2005 firebombing of the Port Mann detachment and used the RCMP computer databases to track him down.
The sensational disclosure was made in a ruling on an application heard by B.C. Supreme Court Justice William Ehrcke which indicates Seymour Lecker “deeply disliked” his brother, Surrey RCMP Cpl. Lorne Lecker, and the two had had no contact since 1998.
While the veteran Mountie, who is now working out of the Surrey RCMP traffic section, was assigned to the Lower Mainland District Traffic Services, Port Mann detachment, that detachment was damaged or destroyed by an improvised explosive device.
In dismissing Seymour Lecker’s bid for a summary judgment against his brother, Ehrcke noted that the police officer accessed the computer database after the firebombing. The officer then advised his superiors of his estranged relationship with his brother, his brother’s experiences of being trained in the use of explosives in the Israeli military in the 1970s, and the fact that he’d recently obtained a B.C. driver’s licence.
“The plaintiff deposes in his affidavit that he has never been arrested or detained in relation to the September 2005 firebombing,” says Ehrcke. “He says he was informed by Chief Superintendent MacRae and by Corporals P. Hudson and C. Heisler of the Surrey RCMP detachment serious crimes unit that he never rose to the level of being a suspect, and that he only became a person of interest after the defendant used the RCMP computer system to obtain his address.”
A search of B.C. newspaper files reveals no reporting on such a firebombing.
Seymour Lecker said he’d done his best to keep his address private and did not want his brother to find him. He’d returned to North America from Israel in 1980 and had lived in Ontario, B.C., Vermont, New York, Louisiana and Texas.
He refused to attend his brother’s wedding, his graduation from the RCMP and the funerals of their parents.
Seymour Lecker claimed that since his brother was not part of the investigation team in the bombing, it was a violation of his right to privacy to use the police computer to locate him.
In a writ of summons filed in the Campbell River court registry, the Port Alice resident claims he suffered “humiliation, emotional distress, diminution of reputation and loss of enjoyment of life.”
He said he’s been called “007″ as a result of RCMP activity around his home and the events happened while his wife was recovering from a life-threatening medical situation. He is seeking upwards of $300,000 in damages against his brother.
He applied to have the judge make a ruling on the basis of affidavits without witnesses but his brother opposed the application, arguing he had a triable defence and desired that the matter go to a full trial.
Cpl. Lecker argued he’d acted with lawful authority, there was no action for damages against him and his brother did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Ehrcke said it was not for him to make a final determination on whether all or any of the defences offered by the cop will succeed but said it was sufficient to say the defendant had raised “bonafide triable defences” and the plaintiff’s claim is not bound to succeed. He therefore dismissed the application.
RCMP Const. Annie Linteau said there was an internal code of conduct investigation after Seymour Lecker lodged a complaint but the probe found that his brother had done nothing wrong in checking the databases. In addition, a complaint subsequently made by Seymour Lecker to the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP also found no wrongdoing, she said.
Linteau confirmed that there was a firebombing but couldn’t say how much damage was done. No one was injured. She added that several police vehicles were damaged in a related incident when some devices were put under the cars but no one injured. No one has been arrested.
Mountie’s estranged brother loses lawsuit
Calgary Herald
Monday, August 18, 2008
B.C. Supreme Court Justice William Ehrcke has ruled against a B.C. man who was seeking damages from his estranged brother, a Surrey Mountie who used the RCMP database to track down his address.
Seymour Lecker was seeking upwards of $300,000 from his brother, RCMP Cpl. Lorne Lecker. The pair had not been in contact since 1998.
Seymour Lecker, who now lives on the west coast of Vancouver Island, said he kept his address private and did not want his brother to find him.
He refused to attend his brother’s wedding and the funerals of their parents.
In September 2005, the RCMP detachment in Port Mann, where Cpl. Lecker was posted, was damaged by an improvised explosive device.
Cpl. Lecker advised his superiors of his relationship with his estranged brother, his brother’s explosives training in the Israeli military in the 1970s and the fact he had recently obtained a B.C. driver’s licence.
Seymour Lecker claimed, since his brother was not on the investigation team in the bombing, it was a violation of his right to privacy to use the police computer to locate him. He was also never an official suspect.