The Province
The RCMP inappropriately used its resources to investigate one of its informants, according to a complaint filed Tuesday by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
The association sent a letter to the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP asking for a probe into the Mounties’ actions, to be conducted by an outside agency.
The association’s move follows an order from B.C. Provincial Court Judge Peder Gulbransen unsealing the information provided to obtain the warrant to search the home of Grant Wakefield.
In March, Wakefield gave police information about the personal activities of Sgt. James Brown.
That information included an account that Wakefield said was given to him by a young woman who said she met with Brown over lunch after connecting through an online dating site.
She claimed they discussed sexual fantasies in his police car and he told her about websites where he could be contacted.
After looking at the sites — which featured bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism — Wakefield forwarded some photos of Brown from the sites to the Coquitlam RCMP.
The RCMP then began a Code of Conduct investigation. That probe is now complete and a final package is being assembled, which will be sent to the commanding officer for review and any decisions on discipline.
The media got wind of the story in July and published the photos. Soon after, an article was posted online criticizing the media for misidentifying Brown in some photos.
Someone commented, making negative allegations about Brown. The person also emailed the author of the article, making similar allegations. Around the same time, someone opened a Twitter account and posted more comments.
Police are investigating whether these comments are defamatory libel and allege that Wakefield was the source. …