Exclusive: Liquor for lieutenants, suds for sergeants: booze is legal at B.C. RCMP HQ

It took longer than they wanted, but the Mounties finally got their can.

Bottle, tap and keg, too. 

Hops and grapes can legally flow at the RCMP’s new, billion-dollar British Columbia headquarters tucked amid Surrey’s Green Timbers forest (and its mighty redwood, the larch, the fir, the mighty Scots pine). 

RCMP's $1 billion new B.C. digs (Bird.ca)

In June 2012, I revealed how the federal force applied for a liquor licence for a private, on-site bar. The public reaction stemming from the blog post was no surprise. There had been too much bad publicity about cops and booze, from the justice-obstructing ex-Cpl. Benjamin “Monty” Robinson to the detachment-drinking, subordinate-seducing Sgt. Don Ray. 

Surrey City Council gave thumbs down to the full-time bar, but recommended the RCMP be eligible for special events permits only. In April 2013, the RCMP said it filed a new application directly to the provincial government. 

Last week, I confirmed that B.C.'s Liquor Control and Licensing Branch issued licence number 305469 to the Mounties on June 17. 

“The RCMP followed the same process as anyone else, and had to apply for a new licence because their new HQ is in a different community (i.e., from Vancouver to Surrey),” said an LCLB representative on the condition of anonymity. “Minors, other than professional entertainers, are not permitted within the licensed area(s) unless approved by the LCLB.”

The licence allows liquor service from noon to midnight for a maximum capacity of 535. The original application was for a maximum 1,198 from 11 a.m. to midnight, Sundays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. 

Spokesman Sgt. Rob Vermeulen claims the RCMP will use it sparingly. 

“The RCMP has made it clear that there will be no general usage or regular hours in the facility – it will only be used for pre-approved private special functions, such as formal Regimental Dinners, memorial services, levees, and veteran functions and other traditional events,” Vermeulen said. “In the absence of special events or functions, the facility will be used for general meetings, gatherings and ceremonies and alcohol will be prohibited during these instances.”

Vermeulen said liquor has been served just four times since June 17 at a Vancouver Vets Fall Dinner meeting, an Officers’ Cops Against Cancer fundraising dinner and two bartender training sessions. 

“The room has also been used 65 times for scheduled meetings, training sessions, town halls, etc. where a large room was required (no liquor service whatsoever),” Vermeulen said. “The room has also been used numerous times (unscheduled) by groups looking for a meeting room on an impromptu basis (again, no liquor service).”

Vermeulen said RCMP members’ dues fund the mess, not government. 

Const. Laughing Leadfoot

Meanwhile, the RCMP has confirmed that the cop found guilty of speeding through a North Vancouver speed trap was on-duty at the time of the Valentine's Day infraction. 

Const. Michael Milo Arbulic drove his personal vehicle 60 km-h above the posted 80 km-h speed limit on the Upper Levels Highway around 1 a.m. on Feb. 14. Police chased him for five kilometres and caught up with him in West Vancouver. He wasn’t ticketed nor was his car impounded, on-the-spot penalties for those found speeding 40 km-h above the limit. 

Judge Steven Merrick imposed a $483 excessive speed fine plus $210, what he would’ve been charged for the impound. Arbulic was a no-show in North Vancouver Provincial Court on Sept. 17; defence lawyer David Butcher appeared on his behalf but refused outside the court to say whether the RCMP paid the legal bill. 

Besides confirming Arbulic was in his own vehicle, Insp. Ed Boettcher told me that the RCMP did not pay his legal bill. “Members have options to contribute to a legal fund and access that fund when necessary,” Boettcher said. 

Arbulic, 38, is subject to a Code of Conduct investigation. “Internal discipline is subject to the Privacy Act and is only a matter of public record if it goes to a formal disciplinary hearing," Boettcher said.

Arbulic’s driving record includes speeding tickets from July 1998, January 2000 and July 2004. The latter was for excessive speed. Arbulic was one of several cops around B.C. recognized by BCAA, ICBC and the parents of Alexa Middlaer for citing a dozen or more drivers for impaired driving. 

From the files of liquor control

A weekend oddity from the files of the British Columbia government.

On the night before the night before Christmas in 2011, a tipsy hit-and-run driver struck the parked government vehicle of a B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch inspector. 

Damage was estimated at $10,000 to the 2005 green Ford Escape SUV, which was parked legally. A white vehicle driven by a male struck the parked government vehicle around 11:18 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2011. 

In the course of his duties, liquor inspector Jeff Hum must have encountered dozens of people who have been serving or consuming liquor contrary to the good principles of moderation (and the law, too). But he never expected this to happen.

Hum's General Incident and Loss Report said:

“A truck headed northbound on (censored) hit the rear driver's side of the vehicle causing extensive damage, and the vehicle then fled the scene. Witnesses heard the accident and upon going out to see what had happened noted the same vehicle come back to view the damage it had caused. A license plate was obtained and police were notified off the hit and run accident. Police located the vehicle and the driver some time later and the suspect was interviewed and admitted to the accident. Police have charged the suspect with fail to remain at the scene of an accident as well as drive without due care and attention."

The hit and run driver may never have been found, had he not returned to the scene of the crime. 

Kamloops RCMP S. Sgt. Grant Learned said the driver was interviewed approximately two hours after the collision. 

“There were indicators of alcohol consumption on the part of the driver at the time of police contact and interview.  However, there was no evidence to support a charge of Impaired Driving at the time of the collision.”

Hum Rattled Hit and Runner Charged by

#LiquorLeaks reveals: B.C.'s booze cops a busy lot

They're part of a little-known division of law enforcement in British Columbia, responsible for policing the service and consumption of liquor. They're decked out in body armour and they take use of force lessons from trained professionals.

B.C.'s liquor cops have a big territory to cover, with more than 1,000 retail outlets and 8,000 restaurants and bars. To gain insight into their activities, there are agendas and minutes of Liquor Control and Licensing Branch compliance and enforcement managers meetings that I accessed via Freedom of Information 

Some highlights of meetings held between Jan. 10, 2012 and Nov. 13, 2012:

Jan. 10: a cop in Kelowna rang in the new year in a fight with a Hells Angels' member and a government vehicle was struck by a drunk driver.  

Feb. 21: LCLB got headsup that the government would try to privatize the Liquor Distribution Branch's warehousing and distribution. 

March 6: A promoter was giving away beer in Vancouver streets, called Beer in a Bag. (Hey, why didn't anybody tell me about this?) 

April 6: Cash used by undercover teens in the Minors as Agents Program was going missing and LCLB was seeking a "petty cash alternative following problems with the issuance and tracing of petty cash for minor agent purchases."

May 15: LCLB ordered 60 coffee mugs, ostensibly for coffee (not "special" coffee) and an application for a 500-person beer garden at the Vancouver Festival of Lights (Celebration of Light fireworks) was denied. 

July 10: a ubrew/uvin was selling 40% alcohol and testing found it was actually 43.2%.

Aug. 21: increased gang activity was noted in Gastown, a possible spillover from the Granville Mall (aka entertainment district) and LCLB investigators were granted access to the Canadian Police Information Centre database.  

Sept. 4: Three of seven private liquor stores in North Vancouver contravened liquor laws according to the undercover teens from the MAP program who tried to buy booze.  

Nov. 13: gang activity was noted in the Okanagan. 

A peek inside the B.C. booze cops

Revealed: why B.C. booze cops got body armour

An odd request for proposals was published in late 2011 by the British Columbia Liquor Control and Licensing Branch. The government agency sought 40 sets of concealable soft body armour for its inspectors. The reason why was not disclosed. Until now.

I broke the story on March 2 for Business in Vancouver. In a nutshell, the boss of B.C. booze enforcement, Karen Ayers, and three of her staff members were given a rude welcome at a Richmond establishment in June 2006. Two of them were roughed up. Their injuries were censored. Ayers responded swiftly by ordering a review of safety and security. Body armour, to protect against slashing and stabbing, was ordered.

Unfortunately, Ayers either did not want to do an interview or was gagged by someone in government. I figured it would have added to the story to have her voice. Maybe the outcome would have been greater public respect and support for liquor inspectors.

The source documents are below.

Why B.C. booze inspectors got body armour

Beat the drum for accountability

Feeble, at best. Asinine, at worst.

I am talking about the Vancouver Police Department's baseless blame-the-media-for-the-Stanley Cup-riot response to the revelation that Liquor Control and Licensing Board general manager Karen Ayers warned the Deputy Solicitor General of "pre-riotous behaviour" during the Stanley Cup final.

"Most of the reporting on the riot and the aftermath has been accurate and insightful, but some has been misleading and inflammatory – suggestions that LCLB documents reveal prior knowledge of a riot falls squarely into the latter category.

"We are concerned about stories created that choose to inflame the rhetoric about the riot based on wrong information, as we were originally concerned by stories and reporters who beat the drum most loudly inciting crowds to gather in the first place. We would respectfully ask that facts be checked and confirmed."

To Chief Jim "No Clue" Chu, I dedicate the above "Beat the Drum" video by Great Big Sea.

I can't think of any of my colleagues or competitors in any part of the British Columbia media who "beat the drum" for unruly behaviour by any hockey fans in June 2011. On the contrary, the message given was to celebrate safely. No matter how important the series, no matter how much we'd all like to see a Stanley Cup parade in Vancouver someday, it is just a game.

Click here for my Tweet on June 13, when I was beating the drum for a civil celebration by offering a cautionary reminder of the ugly legacy of 1994's riot.

CKNW reporter James Lewis challenged Chu on Sept. 24 to clarify the clarification and to explain whether he agreed with the blame-the-media statement and whether he authorized it. Chu gave Lewis, who asked the right questions, the cold shoulder. Read the story and hear the clip here.

Ayers is the first-known public official to use a variation of the R-word. She did so in an email, three days before the Stanley Cup riot, to justify her decision to close downtown Vancouver liquor stores early on June 13 and June 15. Here are excerpts from her notes, obtained under Freedom of Information (see the full document below):

June 10

Vancouver Police Dep. Chief Doug Le Pard
"Not at tipping point… need to look at tonight and do hard level of enforce…"

Transit Police Mike Purdy
"Riot '94 t-shirts (observed)…"

June 12

D&B (Donna Lister and Bruce Edmundson of LCLB)
"Post-game went wild… by this point, police so overwhelmed… open consumption (of liquor)… demographics different than Olympics, majority 16-30… like a zombie movie…."

Le Pard
"biggest crowds ever… bigger than Olympics… scariest crush of people… way more itox (intoxication) than other nights… pretty rowdy later on, fights, violence… building to finale…"

Purdy
"Transit never seen so much liquor…

Mike (last name not legible), B.C. Ambulance Service
"Just shy of gold medal…. not family oriented like Olympics…"

Dave Nelms
"Lots more problems… off power poles, glass bus shelters… more broken glass… being more violent."

My Sept. 21 story in TheTyee.ca touched-off a firestorm of controversy and put the Vancouver Police into damage control. VPD is in full "protect the chief mode." Chief Jim Chu, you will remember, told Mike Howell of the Vancouver Courier before Game 7 that there would be no riot. Afterwards, he claimed there was no intelligence to suggest a riot was likely.

Ayers had consulted with various officials before making her decision, including Deputy Chief Doug Le Pard. Le Pard was on a conference call with Ayers, junior liquor control officials, Transit Police officers, St. Paul's Hospital representatives and B.C. Ambulance Service officials.

The question is this: if a bureaucrat could reasonably conclude that there was the potential for a booze-fuelled, Stanley Cup-related riot in Vancouver last June, why didn't the police?

I'm talking about the same police force that so concerned with the huge crowds and level of drunkenness and violence during the 2010 Winter Olympics that it asked the RCMP for urgent help.

I'm talking about the same police force in the city that had a riot on the night of Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup final.

B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch documents about the 2011 Stanley Cup riot

Someone used the R-word before June 15

That is a photograph of a line-up of thirsty Vancouver Canucks' fans snaking along the sidewalk outside the Spirit of Howe private liquor store at 1275 Granville Street on June 10, the night the Canucks won Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final at Rogers Arena. The government-censored photo was included in documents released via Freedom of Information on Sept. 21 in response to a request I filed. (The people were on a public sidewalk, so why censor them?)

The photograph is the only one included in the 97 pages from the Solicitor General's ministry, which is responsible for the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch. These documents give a glimpse inside the planning for the early closure of liquor stores in downtown Vancouver on June 13 and June 15 during the Stanley Cup finals. For the first time, we find a public official using the R-word (or a variation thereof) before the Game 7 riot.

After a June 12 conference call that included Deputy Vancouver Police Chief Doug Le Pard, LCLB general manager Karen Ayers reported to Deputy Solicitor General Lori Wanamaker about Olympic-sized crowds, fights, violence and binge drinking in public during the June 10 Game 5.

"We are expecting record crowds (for Game 6 on June 13) as this may be the deciding game, and given the escalating problems, intoxication, violence and pre-riotous behaviour, I have made a decision under the Liquor Licensing and Control Act to close all liquor stores in the downtown Vancouver core at 4 p.m. tomorrow evening. ”

Chief Jim "No Clue" Chu famously proclaimed before Game 7 to Mike Howell of the Vancouver Courier: "There's not going to be a riot." The VPD internal report released Sept. 6 claimed: “Prior to Game 7, there was no substantiated intelligence that a riot would occur.”

Obviously the VPD's spin is wearing thin.

Read the full story in TheTyee.ca here.