Douglas Quan (Edmonton Journal) – The RCMP’s professional standards branch has cleared outgoing Commissioner William Elliott of any wrongdoing for bringing a side arm on a trip to Afghanistan last year.
Elliott, the RCMP’s first civilian leader, appeared in a photograph from the trip wearing an RCMP uniform and carrying a holstered gun, raising questions about whether he had received the proper training to possess the weapon.
On Thursday, national RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Julie Gagnon said the force reviewed two complaints about the incident and dismissed both of them.
“The complaints were reviewed and deemed unfounded based on the commissioner’s status as a regular member of the RCMP, the training he received in preparation for his travel to Afghanistan and the circumstances at play in that country at the time of his visit,” she said.
Gagnon was unable to say how many hours of training Elliott actually received.
Staff Sgt. Scott Warren, chairman of the officer-safety committee of the RCMP’s labour-relations program and one of the complainants, said Thursday that he was not satisfied with the response.
Warren said he received a letter from the agency’s recently hired professional integrity officer, Joe Hincke. “The letter says he’s satisfied the commissioner did nothing wrong,” Warren said. “The response does not indicate that an investigation into my complaint was ever completed. It is simply a reiteration of what Elliott said himself.”
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