A Burnaby RCMP officer who called a woman a “dirty slut” in the heat of an argument over a parking space has been docked six days’ pay, according to an RCMP disciplinary decision.
In the opinion of an RCMP adjudicator, Const. Harinder Paul Singh Pabla should have handled the situation differently, given his 16 years on the force at the time. While a judge ruled that the woman had assaulted Pabla in the confrontation, an internal investigation took issue with the officer’s foul language.
On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve 2011, Pabla – who was off-duty – approached then 23-year-old Jessica Olive after she pulled into a parking spot that he had his eye on at Willowbrook Shopping Centre.
A teary-eyed Olive testified Pabla was upset she had taken his spot. While the conversation started normally and she apologized, she claimed he refused to accept her apology and the situation escalated.
Olive told Pabla, “Stop being a dick. It’s just a parking spot, let’s move on,” at which point Pabla made the aforementioned remark, among other sexually explicit comments. She attempted to walk away from the confrontation, but Pabla followed her, leading Olive to kick him in the shin.
Pabla pulled out his badge and stated he could press charges for assault, to which Olive said he had verbally assaulted her and tried to walk away again, but when he continued to follow her, she hit him with her purse and told him to leave her alone.
“I was very scared at that point,” Olive told the courts last July. “It felt like no matter what I did, he wouldn’t leave me alone. I didn’t know what else to do to get him away from me.”
According to testimony, Pabla struck Olive in the face, causing bystanders to intervene and call the police. He was charged with assault, but was acquitted last August.
- With files from The Province
