Dear Editor,
I would urge you to conduct an investigation into Richmond RCMP’s highly aggressive ticketing practices.
I was travelling on River Road and stopped at the Terra Nova junction after turning left. The RCMP officer was sitting at a 90-degree angle looking over the airport dike. It was snowing hard and visibility was poor. He was about 100 metres from me. There was virtually no traffic on the road except an SUV ahead of me that stopped and turned. I also stopped and turned. This was at, maybe, under 10 km/h due to heavy snow.
I was given a $186 ticket for a “rolling” stop. When I started videotaping the officer, his story started changing. He had not considered all the facts and was not behind me to know for certain if I had stopped. He said there was traffic on the road at 6 p.m. on a hard, snowy day when there was none.
So why was I ticketed? I felt harassed and bullied. The young officer was not well trained to ensure the facts added up before pulling people over. I wonder how many people he has pulled over like that.
There is a huge concern with misuse of power and aggressive ticketing in Richmond to meet RCMP “quotas.” Is there a practice to meet a certain number of tickets a day by officers? If so, that would be a violation of civil rights.
An investigation needs to be conducted. This practice of pulling over people and handing them tickets for no reason is not just a huge waste of time; it proves that the Richmond RCMP is more concerned with revenue collection than public safety.
Even if I had made a rolling stop, it’s a minor thing. He could have let me off with a warning, but he was very anxious to write me up!! Watch out folks, you may get a ticket for starting your car next if it’s up to the Richmond RCMP.
John Kurian
RICHMOND
