A Vancouver-area Mountie has been suspended with pay after being found guilty of lying to an insurance adjuster about the nature of an automobile crash that occurred on an early morning in December 2013.
Constable James Steven Baker told the ICBC that a dark sedan collided with his Dodge Ram, causing the truck to fishtail off the road and spiral into a ditch, according to the Vancouver Sun.
A witness to the scene, however, told authorities that there was no sedan. On the contrary, he testified that Baker was intentionally speeding on an icy road and lost control after crossing a median to pass a slow-moving municipal salt truck. ICBC investigators later confirmed that Baker’s truck didn’t sustain any damages that would indicate it had been struck by another vehicle.
Because he supplied false and misleading information to his auto insurance carrier, Baker was charged with violations of the Insurance (Vehicle Act), which can result in a $25,000 fine and two years in jail. A provincial court judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence to validate the witness’ account of the incident.
“I also find that when (Baker) gave the information that he gave to the ICBC adjuster, he knew that material portions of the statement were false,” Judge Kenneth Skilnick ruled. “Specifically, he knew that there was no second vehicle which struck him and which was the cause of his accident.”
The court sentenced him to a $2,500 fine and a $375 “victim surcharge.”
The RCMP is also conducting an internal review of the matter, which may lead to further Code of Conduct penalties.
