Mountie faces discipline
a second time for public outburst
Lori Culbert, Vancouver Sun, July 19, 2009
An RCMP officer who slapped a driver during a dispute over a parking spot in 2002 has been disciplined again, this time for spitting on a motorist and swearing at him, according to an RCMP disciplinary report.
Const. Ken Whitney, a former B.C. Lions football player, pleaded guilty to assault six years ago after slapping a man for taking a parking spot the off-duty officer wanted near Hemlock and Broadway. A Vancouver provincial court judge ordered Whitney to perform 25 hours of community service; he got to keep his job, but was fined two days pay.
More recently, the RCMP’s adjudication board found Whitney guilty of disgraceful conduct for confronting a driver “in an unprofessional and discourteous manner” while on duty near E-Division headquarters in Vancouver on April 13, 2007.
The board concluded Whitney swore at the driver and spat on him. It reprimanded and fined him five days’ pay.
“The public expects and the RCMP requires that its members act in a courteous and professional manner,” said the November 2008 ruling, recently released to The Vancouver Sun.
“Const. Whitney acted in a way which was below the standard expected of a member of the Force.”
At a hearing into the incident, Whitney — who had been with the RCMP’s Greater Vancouver drug section for seven years — denied the allegations and said his saliva ended up on the driver’s jacket accidentally.
Cpl. Roger Weisner, Whitney’s supervisor, testified that he was a passenger in the unmarked cruiser driven by Whitney when they were cut off by an SUV in a traffic circle at Heather and 22nd. Weisner thought the driver, Robert Benn, was a “street person” and said he had a “dumb-ass look” on his face.
Weisner yelled at Benn to “move your f---ing car.” He said he saw Whitney walk up to the SUV but couldn’t hear any conversation.
Benn, 39, testified he thought he had the right of way and recalled Whitney had “an extremely angry face” as he approached the SUV and yelled, “Move your f***ing car, move your f***ing car right now.”
“Whitney then put his head down into the passenger side window of Benn’s vehicle, and in one motion, kind of pursed his lips, moved his head forward, and spit on him. The saliva landed on an area of approximately 5 cm diameter around his eye,” the ruling quoted Benn as saying.
Benn, a married engineer with two daughters, wiped the saliva on the sleeve of his work shirt, and DNA testing later proved it came from Whitney.
Whitney, a Mountie for 11 years, testified that he did not swear at Benn, but told him to move his “freaking car.” As he said these words, “his gum plopped out of his mouth to the ground. He did not intentionally spit on Mr. Benn and does not know how his saliva ended up on Mr. Benn’s shirt,” the ruling said of Whitney’s testimony.
Vancouver police investigated and a criminal charge was laid, but it was later stayed after Whitney sent a letter to Benn in July 2008 “sincerely apologize[ing]” for the incident.
More information about RCMP constable Ken Kenrick Whitney:
Mounties sting Mountie:
Ken Kenrick Whitney proved himself too odious even for the RCMP.
For a cop, that must be the ultimate disgrace. More…
An ongoing RCMP disgrace for many years, Ken Kenrick Whitney’s back in court,
this time for stealing while on duty. But despite all the extraordinary leniency
granted to him, Whitney says he’s been punished excessively. The unmanly tough guy
also claims he can’t be held responsible for his own actions. More…
Richmond police officer
pleads guilty to breach of trust.
Const. Kenrick Whitney was a former BC Lion
with a history of assault while on duty
Graeme Wood, Richmond News, Oct. 30, 2014
Through at least 16 years of offensive, disgusting and vicious behaviour,
Mountie brass have supported RCMP constable Ken Kenrick Whitney.
Now allegations of theft and breach of trust have finally got this creep suspended.
Did RCMP bosses wait until he qualified for full pension?
Kenrick ‘Ken’ Whitney:
From offensive tackle to offensive cop
What constitutes ‘gross misconduct’ for RCMP officers questioned
Brian Hutchinson, National Post, Dec. 5, 2009
It’s time to ditch spitting Mountie
An editorial in the Vancouver Province, July 21, 2009
RCMP officer admits to road rage
Glenn Bohn, Vancouver Sun, Oct. 9, 2003
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