Gotta love Canada. The land where RCMP constables commit crimes with impunity, crimes that would garner any mere citizen with a lengthy prison sentence.
Take, as today’s example, the case of RCMP Constable Andy Yung. For his crime, firing his service pistol and launching a round through the ceiling into the room above him while he was providing security at the 2008 Conference of Defence Ministers of Americas, he’s been sentenced to… wait for it… zero jail time, an absolute discharge, NO firearms prohibition and he will be docked a whopping 5 days pay.
One more time, the RCMP and our so-called justice system disgusts me.
Here is a moron constable who gets drunk, takes his service pistol and in complete disregard for the safety of anyone else in the hotel, fires a round into the ceiling of his room and into the room above him.
Thank God the room was empty.
The unexpected free night had them going out for dinner in the hotel dining room. The wine flowed fast and Yung was drunk by the end of it.
But it didn’t stop there, with some of the Mounties, including Yung, hitting a nightclub.
Back in his hotel room, before turning in for the night, Yung made a call to his ex-girlfriend that left him in tears.
Moments later, he fired a single round into the ceiling above, with the bullet passing through into an unoccupied floor.
What is also reported and admitted by RCMP Constable Yung is that he used the RCMP’s CPIC system to keep tabs on his ex-girlfriend… the one he blames for his taking a shot at his hotel room ceiling.
“The board finds that the disgraceful conduct, which has been proven, brings discredit on the force.”
The board reprimanded the constable and docked him five days’ pay.
He has plead guilty to an unnamed charge. And don’t forget about that reprimand. “Bad dog. Don’t do it again.” Yeah, that oughta teach him.
As a result of this ridiculous sentencing, Constable Andy Yung will NOT have a criminal record, is NOT subjected to a firearms prohibition (unlike any mere citizen) and even gets a 5-day unpaid vacation.
All while keeping his badge, service pistol and his job as an RCMP constable.
How disgusting.
The only thing that brings MORE disrepute on the RCMP than this hand-picked constable’s reprehensible actions is the actions of the RCMP itself and the judge who sentenced him.
The RCMP board, presided over by top officers, said an aggravating factor included “the embarrassment for the force through the involvement of another police service.”
Well, at least in this much I agree with the RCMP’s top ranking officers… the stupid actions of RCMP Constable Andy Yung are certainly an embarrassment for the RCMP… but not because some other agency was involved.
I have no doubt RCMP brass were annoyed that one of their hand-picked constables showed such poor judgment that he got drunk and fired his service pistol into the ceiling of his hotel room.
It’s made even worse when that same constable admits to having used RCMP resources to “keep tabs on” his ex-girlfriend.
In less polite circles than the RCMP that would be called “stalking”, which is a completely separate criminal offense.
But not when you’re one of the Protected Class… an RCMP member.
Those laws are reserved for us less refined folk… you know… Mere Citizens.
Please send me your source. This idiot is in my community and allegadly beat on a 17 yr old girl that was the victim of an gang chase.
I want him out of our community NOW, I need facts, not just a WONDERFUL artical
Thank you for all do, I will be buying you a coffee shortly…..
Hi Jessica,
My source was this Ottawa Citizen article, which is no longer online.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Drunk+Mountie+fired+hotel+ceiling/4565767/story.html
A copy of it is on RCMPWatch.com though:
http://www.rcmpwatch.com/drunk-mountie-fired-gun-at-hotel-ceiling/
Are you referring to Jamie Haller in Williams Lake? This is the first I’d heard of it, so thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Christopher
Curtis Rush Police Reporter
A distinguished Toronto police detective will lose 17 days’ pay for drunk driving and causing personal injuries in a collision two years ago.
The Ontario Provincial Police found that Det. Raymond Direnzo, 39, had twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood when tested after a collision which sent two people to hospital.
A police disciplinary hearing on Wednesday was told that the officer, who was charged with discreditable conduct, admitted to consuming “five pints” before driving home.
Direnzo was off duty and heading home after a social function at about 11 p.m. on June 25, 2009. He was westbound on the Queen Elizabeth Way, east of Highway 427 in Mississauga, when he changed lanes and struck another vehicle that was stopped on the shoulder due to mechanical problems, the hearing was told
Two people were taken to Trillium Hospital.
When the OPP investigated, Direnzo identified himself as the driver who had caused the collision but did not reveal he was an off-duty police officer.
After Direnzo’s arrest, his driver’s licence was suspended for 90 days.
Direnzo’s counsel suggested a penalty in the range of five to 10 days’ lost pay, while the prosecution sought up to 20 days as police go to great lengths to warn the public not to drink and drive.
Police also partner with organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to get the message across.
The prosecution quoted from a 2007 letter from Police Chief Bill Blair in which he said police have recognized drunk driving as a preventable crime whose destructive impact affects all communities.
“What is most worrisome is that some of our members are being arrested and charged for the very offences they have sworn an oath to prevent, investigate and prosecute,” the chief stated. “The citizens of Toronto must be confident that the service will not tolerate . . . drinking and driving by its members.”
The prosecution also noted that while the incident was not made public, it was known to the OPP and “thus the reputation of our service has been tarnished in the eyes of another service.”
Charges were laid against Direnzo but later withdrawn. The Crown said civilian witnesses could not be found and it could not call evidence to place the detective behind the wheel at the scene of the accident.
Direnzo, a 21-year veteran, was promoted to supervisor in 2008 and had an impressive work record that was “worthy of mitigation,” the prosecution stated.