B.C. RCMP officer didn’t apologize to insulted colleague as claimed, lawyer says

A British Columbia Mountie who made derogatory comments about a female colleague’s weight testified this week that he apologized to her and they “laughed it off,” but an RCMP lawyer said Tuesday that the officer “outright lied.”

Constables Ian Solven, Mersad Mesbah and Philip Dick, all stationed at the Coquitlam RCMP detachment, are facing possible dismissal over alleged discreditable conduct and workplace harassment for comments made in private group chats and on police data terminals.

Their RCMP code of conduct hearing involving the officers started last month in Surrey, B.C.

The hearing was interrupted several times on Tuesday after new evidence came to light, and disclosure about an allegedly “highly inflammatory” email from the Coquitlam RCMP detachment’s leadership that was sent to hundreds of employees.

Solven’s lawyer Brad Kielmann said the email from RCMP leadership caused witnesses to feel “intimidated” about testifying, and he told the three-member conduct panel he would seek a stay of proceedings in the case.

The hearing was also delayed after John MacLaughlan, a lawyer for the RCMP conduct authority representative, said “unprompted” evidence had come to light alleging that Solven lied during his testimony on Monday.

Solven testified that he made personal comments about colleagues out of frustration, but claimed he apologized to Const. Sandra Morse, who the officers had called “Big Sandy.”

Solven said after he received a letter about the code of conduct matter, he apologized to Morse for making “personal” comments about her weight.

He testified that they had a “good talk,” and he and Morse “kind of just laughed it off.”

“We moved on and I still talk to her regularly,” Solven testified.

But MacLaughlan told the panel on Tuesday that Morse went to her superior after Solven’s testimony and gave an “unprompted” statement alleging Solven “lied in his testimony yesterday.”

“I think it’s fair to say, based on the preliminary information, that Const. Morse takes a very different view of the relationship that she had/has with Const. Solven.”

The hearing was adjourned to deal with the newly disclosed evidence.

After the hearing resumed, MacLaughlan said Morse’s evidence came as a “surprise,” but said it was important to hear as a matter of Solven’s credibility.

“Let me put it bluntly, Const. Morse is expected to give evidence to the effect that Const. Solven outright lied in his evidence,” MacLaughlan told the conduct board.

“He issued no apology to Const. Morse, and notwithstanding these allegations of odious and repugnant commentary directed at Const. Morse by the subject member in question, he asked her for a character reference.”

He said Morse’s evidence was a “very emotional statement” characterizing the impacts of the comments made about her in the group chats.

The board will allow Morse to testify Wednesday.

Solven, Mesbah and Dick are accused of making homophobic, racist and other offensive remarks in group chats, and could lose their jobs if the allegations are founded.

Solven testified Monday about comments made in police group chats on both his personal phone and on RCMP mobile data terminals.

He said his comments were “inappropriate” and regrettable, but that he used “dark humour” to deal with the stress of the job.

Kielmann, Solven’s lawyer, said the email from detachment leadership made “what I can only describe as highly inflammatory comments about the subject members, commenting about their evidence.”

He said it was “highly problematic” that the email went out when the hearing was ongoing as some witnesses from the detachment are yet to testify.

“An employer commenting on the guilt of an employee in an ongoing hearing, we say is improper conduct,” he said.

The panel declined to have the email read into evidence, but Kielmann indicated it would be referenced on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2025.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press