B.C. RCMP officer’s lawyer objects to questions about who he ‘really’ is

By Canadian Press on September 18, 2025.

A lawyer for a British Columbia RCMP officer who faces possible dismissal for inappropriate comments made in a private group chat and over police computer terminals says his character is not an issue for a code-of-conduct adjudicator to decide.

Anita Atwal, a lawyer representing RCMP Const. Philip Dick, who is based at the Coquitlam, B.C., detachment, says her client’s character and the “core of who he is” is not before the decision maker in the hearing.

Dick’s testimony continued Thursday at the hearing in Richmond, B.C., about messages he exchanged with fellow officers.

Scott Whitelaw, a lawyer for the RCMP conduct authority, questioned Dick about his use of allegedly racist, sexist and homophobic language in messages and asked how it affected his ability to do his job without bias, or if it would affect public trust in policing.

Dick says the messages were a way to vent frustration, stress and anger and admitted they were inappropriate, but didn’t reflect how he did his job.

The officer says he disagrees “completely” with the suggestions he failed to lead by example as a senior police officer, although he repeatedly admitted to using inappropriate language in the group chat and on RCMP data terminals.

“I showed up every day to work. I never missed a day of work. I was never late. I treated every one of my co-workers with respect. I helped out everybody. I never had an issue with any member of the public,” he said. “I’ve never had a public complaint. I’ve never had any negative feedback. I did my job professionally, and I believe I was a leader.”

Dick and Constables Ian Solven and Mersad Mesbah face allegations in the hearing of discreditable conduct stemming from a complaint made by a fellow officer in 2021.

Mesbah testified Thursday after Dick’s evidence concluded, and the hearing’s allegation phase is scheduled to run through Friday, then reconvene in October to determine if the allegations have been established.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2025.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press