Jana G. Pruden and Gary Dimmock (Edmonton Journal/Ottawa Citizen) – A high-ranking Edmonton RCMP officer who exhibited a pattern of inappropriate behaviour over several years — including exposing his penis to a civilian employee, having sex in a polygraph room, and drinking alcohol at work — has been transferred to B.C.
He will remain on the job as a sergeant.
Donald Ray was suspended for 10 days without pay, given a formal reprimand, and demoted one rank from staff sergeant after an anonymous tip sparked an internal RCMP investigation and disciplinary proceedings. At the time of the tip, Ray was the officer in charge of the polygraph unit at the RCMP’s Behavioural Sciences Unit.
Speaking to the media at the RCMP’s K Division headquarters in Edmonton on Tuesday, Chief Superintendent Marlin Degrand said Ray is working under supervision in his new post, “to ensure that he doesn’t continue on with any sorts of activity like this in the future.
“Should that surface, it will be dealt with and it will be dealt with harshly.”
Degrand said the RCMP takes the matters “very seriously.”
A decision by the RCMP adjudication board obtained by the Ottawa Citizen says victim-impact statements show the incidents caused personal and institutional “wounds” which “will require some time and attention to heal.
“It will take considerable effort to rebuild the damaged trust in our organization in light of the incidents.”
Internal Affairs investigators began looking into Ray in August 2009, reviewing seven reports of misconduct which occurred in Edmonton, St. Albert and Red Deer.
Marlin said Ray was put on supervised, administrative duty as soon as the investigation began.
The decision of the three-officer adjudication board found Ray was hosting after-hours parties in his office at K Division, and kept a bar fridge stocked with Budweiser and Appleton Jamaica Rum.
The incident occurred close to the end of one work day in April 2009, when Ray invited his staff to a private office party, and “encouraged his subordinates to sit and have a drink.” One woman consumed four beers over two hours. Once the other employees left, the two kissed. Ray then unzipped his pants, exposed himself and asked her to touch his penis. The woman, a civilian employee, refused.
The investigation said Ray exhibited a “disturbing pattern of activity” dating to 2006, when he would book a polygraph suite for lunchtime sex with a female subordinate.
Ray would also sign out unmarked police cars for his sexual encounters, and once had sex in a public parking lot with another female subordinate after a colleague’s transfer party.
“A reasonable person would find an off-duty police officer engaging in sexual intercourse in a private vehicle in a public place to be disgraceful,” the board wrote.
The adjudication board also found Ray made inappropriate comments to another subordinate employee, including calling her a “hottie” and making comments about her sex life in front of other people.
Ray also had “inappropriate and unprofessional” interactions with prospective female employees, including sending them inappropriate emails, and taking them out for drinks during the hiring process. In one case, he falsified security clearance forms for a woman, exaggerating the number of years she’d known one of her character references.
The discipline board said Ray’s conduct “compromised the integrity of the RCMP’s hiring process.”
Ray admitted to all seven allegations of discreditable conduct, and apologized in writing.
The adjudication board found that “the serial, repetitive nature of the acts” was an aggravating factor, as were Ray’s experience and rank.
But the board also noted numerous mitigating factors in Ray’s favour, including his previous work record, several letters of support from coworkers, and the officer’s “sincere expressions of regret and remorse.”
Degrand said RCMP management “in no way, shape or form” condones Ray’s behaviour, and that the decision about whether to fire the experienced officer was up to the adjudication board.
“Dismissal was one of the options that the board considered,” Degrand said. “I’m not here to substitute my personal beliefs or thoughts or just speculate as to their thought process on that, but the adjudication board considered all of the aggravating as well as mitigating circumstances and in this case, they deemed that this member would receive the highest form of sanction short of dismissal.”
Degrand would not say where exactly in B.C. Ray is now stationed. He said the officer is not in a position to deal with cases such as sexual assaults.
Ray’s behaviour is the latest in a series of complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination levelled against the RCMP across the country.
A high-profile RCMP veteran, Cpl. Catherine Galliford, ignited the controversy last fall by speaking publicly about her internal allegations of sexual harassment and abuse by former male colleagues.
The complaints prompted an investigation by the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, which has asked for public input into how the Mounties dealt with the allegations. The commission is also considering whether existing force guidelines for dealing with such allegations are adequate.
[Source]
Mr. Paulson was quoted as saying that there needs to be a change in legislation. I assume that he is referring to the RCMP Act, in particular:
45.18 (1) Any officer may be recommended for discharge or demotion and any other member may be discharged or demoted on the ground, in this Part referred to as the “ground of unsuitability”, that the officer or member has repeatedly failed to perform the officer’s or member’s duties under this Act in a manner fitted to the requirements of the officer’s or member’s position, notwithstanding that the officer or member has been given reasonable assistance, guidance and supervision in an attempt to improve the performance of those duties.
As in the rest of the country persons accused of serious offences will use the intricacies of the legal system to their advantage. It is reasonable to assume that the reasons put forth by the Adjudication Board have to take into account the noted section of the Act.
If one peruses the Act in respect of discipline, discharge, and demotion, one discovers the onerous legal minefield that seems to engender mistakes and misinterpretation. The various sections that pay heed to past case law findings could certainly be streamlined and simplified to ensure serious infractions are dealt with quickly and summarily.
The questions are, what is the present standing of the reforms, who is actually in charge of the construction of them, and when can we expect a submission to Parliament? The various nattering, finger pointing and excuses do not delineate the progress, if any, that people wish to see.
This is insane. Looking back over my 30 years of service I can think of one member who was demoted and that was several incidents of topping up his own gas tank on an office credit card. I can also think of several members who were shall we say encouraged to retire for things like one count of stealing dope from the exhibit locker. But here we have a guy who for three years treated his office as his own personal harem and lounge, including whipping out Little Don, to the detriment of the unit and caused undoubted stress and trauma to individual members, and he gets demoted and transferred … to B.C.
OMG the horror! That’ll teach him! The optics of this mess are that screwing – or screwing over – your female subordinates is considered about as serious as stealing gas.
This is a guy who, like the infamous Travis Pearson, has no business being in a position of authority over anyone, particularly women. I’m assuming, and hoping, that he’s been shuffled into an admin position in a closet somewhere with no authority over anyone else. Its not like they could stick him a detachment. Can you imagine being a female member and having him dropped into your unit? Any member with any sense will be requesting immediate transfer and grieving any assessment this guy writes. Ever.
An NCO who can’t be trusted with subordinates is useless to the RCMP. So the question becomes – why is he still employed? They had the option of canning him. Really, what do you have to do to actually be kicked out of the RCMP??
Senior Mountie’s ’slap on the wrist’ sparks anger
CBC News
May 23, 2012
The RCMP is under fire for its handling of a senior Edmonton officer who had sex with subordinates and hosted drinking parties in police offices.
Former Staff Sgt. Don Ray was demoted to sergeant, docked 10 days pay and transferred to British Columbia after a pattern of inappropriate behaviour over several years.
An internal review found that over a three year period, Ray had sex with subordinates, drank with them at work and sexually harassed them.
Ray also used his position to favour potential female employees.
“He should be encouraged to retire or forcibly removed,” said Krista Carle, a former B.C. constable who is involved in a class action lawsuit against the RCMP as a victim of sexual harassment.
“To give simply another transfer to another province is shameful,” she said. “They have — right now — a public relations nightmare.”
“They can say that they’re going to treat harassment seriously, but the proof is in the pudding that they have not acted appropriately.”
Board considered dismissal
The RCMP Adjudication Board delivered its decision in January.
The board said it considered dismissal, but relied heavily on a joint submission to reach its decision.
Ray’s punishment sends the wrong message, said Arthur Schafer, an ethics professor at the University of Manitoba.
“The victims lose their careers, suffer sometimes terrible psychological harm,” he said. “The perpetrators suffer either not at all or in a minor way. The punishment was little more than a slap on the wrist.”
Ray’s disciplinary hearing came amid widespread complaints from female RCMP officers who say they experienced sexual harassment in the force.
The handling of Ray’s case will not help in improving relations between senior RCMP staff and employees, said Mike Webster, a police psychologist on Vancouver Island.
“Female members within the RCMP are not going to feel safe working in that environment as a result of this decision,” he said. “The organization is riddled with a toxic environment, high levels of employee stress and a culture of fear.”
Webster believes Mounties need a union to help turn around their troubled environment.
Ray was the head of the polygraph unit at the RCMP’s Edmonton headquarters from 2006 to 2009 when the complaints took place.