Senior Mountie's 'slap on the wrist' sparks anger

The RCMP is under fire forits handling ofa senior Edmonton officer who had sex with subordinates and hosted drinking parties in police offices.

Former Staff Sgt.Don Ray was demoted to sergeant, docked 10 days pay and transferred to British Columbia after a pattern ofinappropriate behaviour over several years.

An internal reviewfound that over a three year period, Ray had sex with subordinates, drank with them at work and sexually harassed them.

Ray also used his position to favour potential female employees.

"He should be encouraged to retire or forcibly removed," said Krista Carle, a formerB.C. constable who is involved in a class action lawsuit against the RCMP asa victim of sexual harassment.

'They haveright now a public relations nightmare' Krista Carle, former RCMP officer

"To give simply another transfer to another province is shameful," she said. "They haveright now a public relations nightmare."

"They can say that they're going to treat harassment seriously, but the proof is in the pudding that they have not acted appropriately."

Board considered dismissal

The RCMP Adjudication Board delivered its decision in January.

The boardsaid itconsidered dismissal, but relied heavily on a joint submission to reach its decision.

Ray'spunishment sends the wrong message, said Arthur Schafer,an ethics professor at the University of Manitoba.

"The victims lose their careers, suffer sometimes terrible psychological harm," he said."The perpetrators suffer either not at all or in a minor way. The punishment was little more than a slap on the wrist."

Ray's disciplinary hearing came amid widespread complaints from female RCMP officers who say they experienced sexual harassment in the force.

The handling of Ray's casewillnot help in improvingrelations betweensenior RCMP staff and employees, saidMike Webster, a police psychologist on Vancouver Island.

"Female members within the RCMP are not going to feel safe working in that environment as a result of this decision," he said. "The organization is riddled with a toxic environment, high levels of employee stress and a culture of fear."

Webster believes Mounties need a union to help turn aroundtheir troubled environment.

Ray was the head of the polygraph unit attheRCMP's Edmonton headquarters from 2006 to 2009 when the complaints took place.