Another rally protesting the Canadian legal system’s apparently light treatment of an RCMP officer whose Jeep hit and killed a motorcyclist will be held Friday at the Surrey, British Columbia, provincial courthouse.
Cpl. Benjamin "Monty" Robinson is scheduled to make an appearance at the court that morning. He is charged with obstruction of justice, but the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists (B.C.C.O.M.) and some others contend that he should face the charges that Surrey police originally wanted to press, drunk driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death.
Robinson was found to have consumed alcohol, but had left the scene of the collision and then returned with a story that he’d gone away to have a couple of drinks. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Orion Hutchinson died on the road near Vancouver.
The B.C.C.O.M. also asks concerned motorcyclists to send a "letter, email or fax to the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Hon. Kash Heed and the Attorney General, Hon. Michael de Jong, who is also a rider, and call for changes to be made to our justice system."
The rally gets underway at 9 a.m. Friday outside the Surrey courthouse. A previous rally was held on Dec. 8, but Robinson was represented by a lawyer at that court appeance and did not show up.
A Facebook page has been set up with some information on this.
I find it somewhat alarming that a police officer would leave the scene of an accident, FULL STOP.
To go and have a few drinks, that just makes it worse, not better…
I keep hearing: …in that he should have known, as an officer of the law, leaving the scene is worse, and consuming alcohol would only compound the situation.
Why is this even a topic of discussion?
There have been many cases that were successfully prosecuted against drivers who left the scene and were later found to be impaired. A quick internet search turned up 4 cases, across the country, in which a driver was successfully prosecuted for both leaving the scene of an accident causing death and impaired operation of a vehicle.
So why didn’t they think there would be enough evidence here? Hmmmm…