RCMP veteran with Olympic security unit charged after alleged shoplifting

A member of the  Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit has been  charged with  theft under $5,000.

Ottawa-based Staff Sgt. Suzanne Denise Marie Martel, a 19-year RCMP  veteran, has been accused of shoplifting from a Winners store in Burnaby while off  duty.  

The VISU is overseeing security for the 2010 Winter Games. Martel has been relieved of her duty and has been sent back to Ottawa, according to an RCMP news release.

She is scheduled to appear in court in April.

Martel is one of seven  VISU  police officers who have been sent home. None of the others have been charged.  

There are 6,000 law-enforcement personnel with the unit.

Comments

3 Comments

John Smith

Feb 20, 2010 at 1:44am

I retired after 25 years in the RCMP. The problem is that this woman will face little or no repercussions for her action. That is a fact. I have seen this countless times. One of the worst cases was a member who while in Alberta sexually assaulted four female members. He was recently promoted and now works in B.C. You can Google that and find it yourself. The four women settled out of court and it was hushed up.

Strategis

Feb 20, 2010 at 3:21am

Ooops! Well, no one's perfect. Even some police slip up from time to time. Some have substance abuse problems. Some are even criminal psychopaths. We need to remember that police are human beings, like all the rest of us. Whether they are more psychologically healthy, wise, moral, balanced, disciplined, law abiding, I don't really know. But they are human beings, and capable of misjudement and error, especially in the heat of the moment. That's why we need to be very, very careful when we put lethal weapons in their hands and set them loose. We should probably be doing more to ensure that police men and women are getting all the training, guidance, and psychological help that they need, because their job can be stressful, and they are the custodians of our laws, and have permission to attack people, taser them, and even to shoot them with assault rifles on the streets of Vancouver, thanks to the 2010 Olympics.

11 got canned...

Feb 21, 2010 at 11:59am

Does anyone know what the other 10 did to get the boot? Is this our scapegoat so the other 10 can quietly skulk away?