Vancouver, B.C. (Vancouver Sun) – An RCMP officer found guilty of assault continues on active duty with the Surrey detachment, RCMP media relations officer Sgt. Rob Vermeulen said Thursday.
The convicted officer, Const. Frank Lambert, was found guilty in Chilliwack Provincial Court on Wednesday of assault relating to an incident while he was on duty, an RCMP news release said.
Vermeulen said in an interview Thursday that decisions are made on a case-by-case basis about whether to allow officers who are charged or convicted of offences to continue on active duty.
According to an RCMP news release, the incident occurred in July 2007, when Lambert and several other officers caught six men at the scene of a break and enter at a Surrey school.
The release said one of the suspects made a comment to another, but didn’t specify what was said. Lambert “was then observed by another RCMP officer utilizing excessive force in the management of a handcuffed prisoner by pushing him onto the hood of a police car several times. The prisoner was not injured.”
The Surrey detachment launched internal and criminal investigations.
Lambert was charged with assault in January 2008. His sentencing is tentatively set for February 2010.
In the internal code of conduct investigation, the officer in charge of the Surrey detachment found in February 2008 that the allegations were “substantiated.” Lambert, an officer for five years, faces formal discipline before an adjudication board.
Penalties could range from a reprimand to dismissal, Vermeulen said.
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