Mountie loses more than he bargained for with prostitute

Gary Dimmock, Ottawa (Ottawa Citizen) – In late 2009, senior RCMP officers launched an investigation to recover a constable’s identification card and force-issued BlackBerry that had been stolen by a prostitute while she performed oral sex on the officer in his car.

According to Ottawa RCMP files obtained by the Citizen, Const. Shyamal Ramlu, who works in Langley, B.C., left a colleague’s retirement party at 11:08 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2009 after calling Operation Red Nose because he was too drunk to drive.

But once home, Ramlu did not stay there long. He got in his car and started driving around the streets of Surrey, B.C., looking for a prostitute. On the other side of midnight, he found one. She was waving at him, according to Ramlu’s account, so he pulled over, and after a brief chat, she climbed in the passenger’s side and performed oral sex.

It was during the act that the prostitute noticed Ramlu’s BlackBerry and wallet on the console between the front seats. The street prostitute regularly stole wallets from her johns and this time was no different, she later told investigators, according to RCMP files.

Ramlu, who did not return a message for comment on this story, let the prostitute out of the vehicle and returned home. When he realized his wallet and Blackberry were missing, he called the Mounties to report them stolen. He said he suspected the prostitute.

His own report prompted senior Mounties to launch an investigation, during which they found his wallet and RCMP identification card in a drug house on Jan. 28, 2010. The RCMP Blackberry was never recovered.

The constable’s personal credit cards had also been fraudulently used between Dec. 13, 2009 and Jan. 28, 2010.

After Ramlu reported the theft to his fellow RCMP officers, he told his wife what had happened and she stood by his side.

Ramlu also told investigating Mounties that he never paid the prostitute for her services.

Ramlu was never charged for communicating for the purpose of prostitution. Nor was he charged with drunk driving.

Senior Mounties acknowledged the fact that he immediately, at his own behest, gave a full account of what happened and admitted everything.

Ramlu also co-operated with the ensuing investigation, which led to the identification and arrest of the prostitute, as well as the execution of a search warrant at the drug house.

In late March 2011, the RCMP held a disciplinary hearing in Ottawa to decide Ramlu’s fate.

“The board finds that a reasonable person, having the knowledge of the relevant circumstances, including the realities of policing in general and those of the RCMP in particular, would conclude that allowing a prostitute who was actively soliciting to enter your personal vehicle, participating in a sexual activity, and improperly securing RCMP property, are all disgraceful and sufficiently related to the employment situation to warrant disciplinary measures against the member,” the disciplinary board ruled.

“There is a clear relationship between the conduct and the interests of the force insofar as the disgraceful conduct brings discredit upon the force. The board finds, along with Constable Ramlu’s admission, that the allegation has been established,” the board ruled in late March 2011.

“Constable Ramlu acknowledged his mistake and that he has taken responsibility for his actions,” the ruling said.

The RCMP penalized the officer by docking him five days pay.