Suspended Osoyoos RCMP officer Amit Goyal is still receiving pay two years after his suspension as he faces a disciplinary hearing next month.
Former Osoyoos resident Steve Condon said he “definitely” will be at the Code of Conduct hearing in Vancouver on July 28, as he alleges Goyal framed him for the theft of two vehicles in late 2012.
Condon is currently suing the Town of Osoyoos and the RCMP.
Now living in Coquitlam, Condon left Osoyoos some time after the charges were laid against him relating to the theft of Goyal’s 2009 Audi S5 and 2008 Ford Ranger which were reported stolen a week apart. Both vehicles were later found burned on Anarchist Mountain.
An investigation by the Trail RCMP in 2013 had Condon undergo multiple interviews and take a polygraph lie detector test, which he passed. Condon told RCMP at the time that Goyal is the one they should investigate and he believes the Code of Conduct hearing stems from the Trail RCMP recommendations.
At this time, the allegations are unproven as no court or tribunal has found any Code of Conduct infraction.
Attempts to contact the RCMP for comment were met with an email response noting the time and place for Goyal’s hearing and direction to a website explaining the details of what a Code of Conduct hearing entails. RCMP disciplinary hearings are initiated in cases where the member’s dismissal is being sought based on the overall circumstances of the allegations. Boards have the legal authority to hear evidence, such as sworn testimony, to make determinations and administer various measures including dismissal.
The Western News was unable to locate contact information for Goyal by press deadline.
For Condon, the process has affected his life for the past two years.
“It’s difficult, it makes my whole life difficult. I just have nightmares of police officers, I have nightmares of the law. How crooked and corrupt it is. How they try to hide their own stuff,” Condon said.
Condon was an Osoyoos resident for a year and a half and said he had to relocate after the charges of vehicle theft were laid.
“I did like it there, it cost me a lot of money to relocate again and everything. I haven’t been able to be normal since,” Condon said.
He added the situation has shaken his faith in the system, he’s also not a fan of the fact that Goyal has been paid since his suspension.
“Waste of my taxpayer money. Every time I give my paycheque and see how much money I pay in taxes and say this is crazy. What am I doing, when my taxes are going to stuff like this,” Condon said.
He said because of his past record and the current issues he has with the Osoyoos RCMP that he hasn’t been able to have a valid drivers license until recently, though the process wasn’t easy.
“I’m working on getting them back,” Condon said, adding it has been expensive and he hopes to be reimbursed for the costs of getting his license back as a result of the lawsuit.
Condon said although haunted by some dealings with the RCMP, “like with anything there’s good people and bad people. There are a lot of good RCMP.”
He strongly believes that Goyal should have been “fired ages ago.”
“There’s a lot of things here that have transpired that need to be investigated in the proper way.”