The public often rolls their eyes (for good reason) when police say they are “investigating” the conduct of one of their own.
The Burnaby RCMP can restore some trust by being very public about why one of their own appears to have taken sides in a longstanding feud between two next-door neighbours.
You can read the full story here but basically police have launched a “full review” into a letter on Burnaby RCMP letterhead that relates to the feud.
Dated Nov. 29, 2020, the letter went out to neighbours in the area of Rathburn Drive.
It identifies the residents of one house on the street as “victims” of ongoing harassment and then lists a litany of wrongdoing the family has been “subjected to.”
The list includes broken windows, screws screwed into tires, “loud obnoxious music” and “swarming” incidents by individuals “likely attempting to intimidate” the residents, according to the letter.
“It is the goal of your local police to stop the ongoing harassment of the residents/victims living at (the address), and we require your assistance to do so,” states the letter, which was distributed to all of the houses in the neighbourhood but not to the one family targeted by the letter.
“It’s a neighbourhood dispute that’s been around for years,” Burnaby RCMP spokesperson Mike Kalanj told the NOW.
When asked to respond to the woman’s concerns about the authenticity of the RCMP letter and its bias in terms of portraying one family as the victims, Kalanj confirmed the letter had been written by someone at Burnaby RCMP and that the incident had sparked a “full review.”
He said the allegations of possible undue influence on someone inside the RCMP are “absolutely concerning.”
“It is being taken seriously,” Kalanj said.
Those are strong words by Kalanj, who has brought a fresh air of honesty to the RCMP's dealings with local media.
I really hope they discover who authored the letter and that discipline is handed out harshly – perhaps even firing this rogue officer. The letter is highly offensive and could have been written because one of the parties involved in the dispute supposedly has connections to the RCMP.
The public needs to be able to trust police. They need to know that officers are as unbiased as possible when handling cases.
Meddling in the middle of a dispute like this is wrong on so many levels and needs to be dealt with in a public manner.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
