Kelowna Mounties had the highest number of official complaints in 2010 about the improper use of force among all RCMP detachments in British Columbia.
Those statistics, provided by the police and the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, have been released in the wake of the January arrest of Buddy Tavares, who was kicked in the face while being arrested by the Mounties in an incident captured on cellphone video.
Constable Geoff Mantler has since been suspended with pay, and investigators have recommended he be charged with assault causing bodily harm. Last week, police revealed that Constable Mantler is also under investigation for an earlier improper use of force complaint filed in November.
That earlier complaint against Constable Mantler was one of 22 made against Kelowna officers in 2010, said Constable Steve Holmes, a spokesman for the Kelowna RCMP.
By comparison, Surrey RCMP - with nearly four times as many officers - had 21 complaints of improper use of force in 2010, according to data provided by the CPC. Coquitlam, whose contingent of RCMP officers is similar in size to that of Kelowna, had seven complaints.
Since the year has just ended, the 2010 complaints data is "still quite raw," said CPC communications manager Kate McDerby. The commission lists only 18 complaints of improper use of force against the Kelowna detachment, and Ms. McDerby said the discrepancy likely means files from the end of 2010 still have to be tabulated.
Constable Holmes said he is unable to explain why that number of improper use of force complaints was lodged against Kelowna officers compared to officers in other jurisdictions. Both Constable Holmes and Ms. McDerby said they could not reveal details of the complaints due to privacy concerns.
However, one of the complaints became public last August, when Constable Chris Brinnen was charged with assault in connection with a February incident outside a Kelowna nightclub. Constable Brinnen remains on active duty while his case proceeds through the courts.
The situation with Mr. Tavares, meanwhile, continues to draw criticism. The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has filed two complaints with the CPC in connection with the case.
The first is against Constable Mantler and alleges unlawful use of force. The second is against Kelowna's top cop, Superintendent Bill McKinnon, and Constable Holmes for statements they made linking Mr. Tavares's arrest to a "domestic violence situation."
Mr. Tavares was arrested after police responded to a call that an employee of the Harvest Golf Club in Kelowna was on the grounds firing a gun. While he has been charged with careless use of a firearm, he has not been charged with a domestic violence offence.
Mr. Tavares has expressed bewilderment at the domestic violence accusation, and his ex-wife Trudi Tavares has said she did not make such a complaint.
The BCCLA's executive director, David Eby, said not only should the information never have been released in the first place, but it also appears to have been inaccurate.
"Our concern is that there was the use of a character smear," he said. "We'd like to see the RCMP put some policies in place around when they do and don't release this kind of information."
Constable Holmes said he is no longer authorized to speak about Mr. Tavares's case and directed questions to the RCMP's E Division headquarters in Vancouver.
"We are confident that a review of the facts will determine why we said what we did at the time," said E Division spokesman Sergeant Rob Vermeulen, when asked if the RCMP stands by statements linking Mr. Tavares's arrest to domestic violence.
Special to The Globe and Mail