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KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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SEPTEMBER 11, 2014 | Volume 27 No. 108
JUNIOR COP’S BOAST LED TO CELLSEX PROBE TIM PETRUK STAFF REPORTER tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
A junior RCMP officer boasting to a female superior about what he saw when two female prisoners engaged in sex acts in a Kamloops jail cell is what led to an investigation being launched. The trial of Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Rick Brown began in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops on Tuesday, Sept. 9, with that information. Brown was charged with breach of trust by a public officer following an incident in the cellblock of the Kamloops RCMP’s Battle Street detachment in the early-morning hours of Aug. 18, 2010. Prosecutor Winston Sayson outlined the Crown’s case against Brown, the veteran Mountie with more than two decades of police experience who was at the helm of the Kamloops detachment when the sex acts took place. Sayson said the two women were arrested for unrelated matters earlier in the morning. Both women were heavily intoxicated and one of them had to be physically carried into the drunk tank by four officers. “Eventually, they began physical contact,” Sayson said. “The physical contact evolved into explicit, hardcore physical acts.” A group of Mounties and jail guards — including Brown — watched the sex acts on a monitor via closed-circuit television. Court heard jail guard David
Tompkins used a detachment phone to call the watch office and invite others to join them. “He said, ‘Brownie says you’ve got to see this,’” Sayson said, explaining “Brownie” was Brown’s nickname at the detachment. No one intervened. After the fact, Elgee described the incident to Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Kelly Butler, in graphic detail and said one of the women claimed to be HIV-positive. Butler wrote an email expressing her concern about the incident to Brown and a superior staffsergeant. “Her email . . . resulted in an investigation being undertaken by the Kamloops RCMP,” Sayson said. Defence lawyer Glen Orris provided a brief opening statement following Sayson’s remarks, calling the Kamloops detachment “chronically understaffed” at the time of the incident. The first witness at trial was retired RCMP Cpl. Duncan Hewitt, a former member of the RCMP’s professional-standards unit and the officer who undertook a codeof-conduct investigation after word of the incident came to light. Hewitt said he first became aware when approached on Aug. 23, 2010, by then-Insp. Yves Lacasse, who asked for an investigation. Hewitt also formerly served as a fill-in watch commander — the role Brown occupied on Aug. 18, 2010. He described it as a supervisory role and said the watch command-
er is at the top of the detachment pecking order when the officer in charge is not in the building. “Basically, when you’re the watch commander, members end up going through the chain of command and going to you,” Hewitt said. “You’re their supervisor. They’re looking for direction.” Sayson said the Crown intends to call 17 witnesses during the trial, which is slated to run three weeks. One of the women involved in the sex acts will take the stand, he said. The other woman has since died. Also expected to testify are Elgee and RCMP Const. Stephen Zaharia — both of whom were initially charged alongside Brown, but had their charges dropped — and a number of jail guards and additional police officers. Tompkins pleaded guilty last year and was placed on a one-year probation term. Brown has been on paid leave from the RCMP since 2010. Yesterday (Sept. 10), court was shown surveillance video from the Kamloops RCMP detachment depicting the sex acts as well as a hallway near the cell block, outside the room where the closed-circuit monitors were being watched. Brown could be seen in the video smiling and laughing while the two women engaged in their jail-cell sex. KTW is seeking access to the videos to publish online. Romilly said he will give a decision on KTW’s application within a week.
DAVE EAGLES/KTW
Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Rick Brown is charged with breach of trust in connection to the August 2010 cell-sex incident. He has been on paid leave for four years.
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