MOUNTIE FACES 15 CRIMINAL CHARGES

Accusations Include Possession Of Unlicensed Guns And Marijuana
Trafficking

A Surrey Mountie has been charged with breach of trust for trafficking
marijuana, possession of property obtained by crime and more than a
dozen weapons offences.

Const. David Clarke, 35, an RCMP member for 4 1/2 years, was charged
late Monday with 15 offences, including breach of trust for
trafficking marijuana, possession of stolen marijuana and possession
of various identification documents obtained by crime, the RCMP said
Tuesday.

He is also accused of possessing a number of unlicensed weapons,
including a Glock 9-mm handgun, a Colt semiautomatic handgun, a
Remington Mohawk semi-automatic rifle, an FN FAL semi-automatic rifle,
a Mossberg pump-action shotgun and semi-automatic ammunition
cartridges capable of holding more than 10 bullets, an alleged
prohibited device.

Clarke made his first court appearance Tuesday. He is scheduled to
make his next appearance Jan. 18 in Surrey Provincial Court.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Rob Vermeulen said Chief Supt. Fraser MacRae, the
commanding officer of the Surrey RCMP, ordered the investigation by
the Surrey Serious Crime Section after allegations were made by a
member of the public on Oct. 1.

Clarke was immediately suspended with pay but that is under review now
that the officer has been formally charged, Vermeulen said.

"These situations, which in my experience are very rare, are taken
very seriously," MacRae said in a statement. "Our investigation into
the criminal allegations has been completed, and the charges you see
today are the result of the determination by Crown counsel that these
are the appropriate charges in view of all the circumstance."

Clarke is also among a number of officers being sued, along with the
B.C. solicitor-general, by Travis Bader, the owner of a Delta firearms
training business. Bader says he was treated like a criminal and
subjected to two years of "personal abuse" by police, resulting in 10
unfounded charges against him that were stayed by the Crown earlier
this year.

Clarke is also facing an internal disciplinary hearing stemming from
the criminal allegations.