Red Deer Mountie faces obstruction charges

Jana G. Pruden, Edmonton, AB (Edmonton Journal) – A Red Deer RCMP officer has been charged with obstruction of justice after an investigation into his actions at a court proceeding last year.

Sgt. Richard Graydon was charged after a lengthy investigation by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team. ASIRT executive director Cliff Purvis said the investigation began after Graydon testified at a civil proceeding in Edmonton in September 2010.

RCMP turned the matter over to ASIRT later that month.

Purvis would not elaborate on the nature of the court proceedings, except to say that it was a lawsuit “in relation to (Graydon’s) duties as a police officer.” Purvis also declined to comment on the nature of the alleged obstruction while the charge is before the court.

Graydon was the subject of a lawsuit relating to the shooting of a 71-year-old man, which occurred after the two became embroiled in a violent roadside confrontation during a routine traffic stop.

Peter Larsen sued the RCMP and Graydon for $600,000 for the shooting, which happened in April 1999 on a highway near St. Paul. The two sides settled out of court for an undisclosed sum midway through the trial in the fall of 2010.

During court proceedings that fall, a Court of Queen’s Bench justice reprimanded Graydon for allegedly refusing to turn over his police notebook to the court after it had been submitted as evidence in the hearing.

According to information released at the time, Graydon left court with the notebook after expressing concern about the identities of informants recorded in it.

At the time, Justice Mary Moreau called the officer’s actions “unacceptable.”

“You proceeded to take matters into your own hands and remove the exhibit from the control of the clerk. In doing so, you compromised the ability of the court to rely without question or inquiry on the integrity of the exhibit,” Moreau was quoted as saying.

She said the removal of the notebook threatened public confidence in the justice system.

Graydon, a 23-year veteran of the RCMP, will appear in court again on the obstruction charge in Edmonton on Jan. 13. He is currently suspended with pay from the RCMP.

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