Canada

RCMP officer disciplined after passing out drunk in Burger King car

A former member of the RCMP Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Service has been disciplined following a 2020 incident in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, in which he was found passed out in his police-issued SUV at a Burger King drive-thru at 2:30 a.m.

Const. Blaise Picketts, whose full name is Jonathan Warren Blaise Picketts, agreed to the facts in an RCMP Conduct Board decision that was released this week. He also pleaded guilty to resisting arrest in the incident, in a separate criminal proceeding last year.

The incident is from April 2020. It starts in the early afternoon, on a day when Picketts is not at work. He and some other police dog handlers met in Surrey to train their dogs.

The group then decided to go to the home of one of the officers in Langley to socialize. On the way, Picketts got liquor from a liquor store, which he drank at the officer’s house.

A few hours later he went to another officer’s house in Surrey and continued to drink, at one point driving to the liquor store again before continuing to drink.

According to the Conduct Board decision, Picketts stayed at that officer’s house until 2 a.m., when he left in his police SUV, with his service dog, a rifle, ammunition and a mobile workstation.

Collision with a concrete barrier

Picketts admitted to scraping the SUV against a concrete barrier on the Golden Ears Bridge while driving to Maple Ridge. The collision caused about $7,000 in damage, for which Picketts later reimbursed the RCMP.

Around 2:30 a.m., the officer fell asleep at the wheel at the Burger King drive-thru, according to the board’s conduct decision. An officer tried to wake him up for 20 minutes before he freaked out and called 911.

Around 3 a.m., an RCMP officer arrived, unsure if he was dealing with an armed police officer or someone driving a stolen police car.

According to the disciplinary decision, the officer found Picketts asleep with the engine running and a credit card in his right hand. It took several attempts to wake him up and an open can of alcohol was found on the floor.

After a second officer arrived at the Burger King, the two attempted to take a breathalyzer test, but Picketts bit the straw, turned away from the device and was unable to blow hard enough.

Resisting arrest

He was arrested but refused to comply, refused to cooperate and was verbally abusive to the officers. According to the Board of Conduct decision, Picketts became combative and physically resisted arrest, at one point quickly raising his knee in the direction of one of the officers’ groin and grabbing the handcuffs in a way that injured the other officer’s thumb.

The RCMP Conduct Board decision does not specify the location of the Burger King, but the only one in this city, pictured here in the Google Streetview image, is in the 20200 block of Lougheed Hwy. (Google Streetview)

More officers were rushed to the Burger King to help and it took several officers to get him into the back of a police car.

“Give your middle finger to the camera”

At the Maple Ridge Police Department, Picketts remains uncooperative.

“Booking video shows that when Officer Picketts was photographed in the cells, he bowed his head and raised his middle finger to the camera,” the Conduct Board’s ruling said.

He was eventually released after sobering up.

After pleading guilty to resisting arrest, Picketts was sentenced to three months probation and fined $1,000.

“I find his actions demonstrate a serious lack of judgment and are inconsistent with the duties and responsibilities of a member of the RCMP,” Christine Sakiris wrote to the Conduct Board in her decision. “Members cannot ignore in their private lives the very laws they are called upon to enforce.

Picketts was allowed to remain a member of the RCMP, but was stripped of 30 days of pay and 15 days of vacation for the incident. He was suspended from the Integrated Police Dog Services and has been ineligible for promotion for three years. He was also ordered to receive medical attention and apologize to the arresting officers.