An RCMP judge has found that three British Columbia constables failed to treat people with respect and courtesy when they posted racist, sexist and homophobic comments in a group chat with other officers and on police computer terminals.
Louise Morel found that Coquitlam constables Mersad Mesbah, Ian Solven and Philip Dick violated the RCMP code and exhibited discreditable behavior by posting comments, but denied other allegations related to workplace harassment.
Lawyers will meet next week to discuss next steps, which could include firing the officers.
Morel says officers' claims that the posts were made out of frustration, dark humor or sarcasm do not justify them, noting that police are held to a higher standard than the general public.
She says she is confident that a reasonable person in the public would consider the comments not only impolite and disrespectful, but also defamatory, and that posting them in chat rooms “could reasonably be expected” to diminish public trust in the RCMP.
Morel says he will release a more detailed written decision later.
For nearly three hours on Friday, Morel read various messages that she called racist, sexist and homophobic.
“I don't understand how a reasonable person in the public can think that comments about a vulnerable woman being raped by five guys, calling an RCMP unit a penis squad, or a victim of criminal sexual assault being a dumb girl can be acceptable professionally or even excusable,” she said, discussing the allegations against Solven.
In Dick's case, the messages referred to a “big man with a turban” or a “useless short chubby Asian,” she said.
In Mesbah's case, she referred to messages that called others “mentally retarded.”
She said some aspects of the posts “demonstrate a mindset” that questions the public's right to fair and equal treatment.
“I believe that the messages are clearly racist, sexist and homophobic in nature, given the offensive nature associated with a person's race, colour, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation,” she said.
“I believe that a reasonable person in the public, aware of all the relevant circumstances, including the realities of policing in general and the RCMP in particular, would consider such conduct to be discreditable.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2025.
