A St. Albert man and former RCMP investigator has followed through on his threats to sue over criminal charges that were laid against him and then dropped.
Kelly Tony John Gulaga, a former corporal with the RCMP’s major case squad in Edmonton, was charged with various criminal offences in September 2009, including several counts of assault, forcible confinement and a single weapons offence.
At the time, Gulaga was still an RCMP officer and, as a result, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) — a team specifically set up for criminal investigations involving the police — was called in and eventually laid the charges.
Most of those charges were dropped in June 2010, but Gulaga pleaded guilty to a single weapons charge in January 2011. He had a restricted weapon, which he was authorized to have, but was not allowed to have it at his office, where he had it at the time.
He received a conditional discharge for that offence — one of the lightest sentences possible, which should leave him without a criminal record.
Gulaga filed suit last week, claiming $1.5 million in damages stemming from the charges because he argues they were trumped up and unfair.
The suit names his former common-law spouse, Edmonton Police Service officer Arlene Hove, who brought the initial concerns forward; several members of ASIRT; the head of the ASIRT unit, Clifton Purvis; as well as the then-head of the RCMP in Alberta, Rod Knecht; and the then-chief of the EPS, Mike Boyd.
Gulaga claims the information Hove first provided to police was false.
“Hove provided information to members of the EPS, the RCMP and ASIRT which was false, knowing that such information was likely to be used to arrest and prosecute the plaintiff,” the lawsuit reads.
He also claims the officers who investigated her complaints swiftly concluded he was guilty.
“The ASIRT members owed a duty to the plaintiff to employ due diligence, impartiality and reasonable skill in the course of conducting the investigation into Hove’s complaints.”
Gulaga also claims he was held for an unreasonable amount of time when he was arrested, leading to “stress, humiliation and anxiety.”
Prior to filing suit, Gulaga launched a formal complaint against the officer who investigated his case. Though the officers worked with the ASIRT unit, they were on loan from the Edmonton Police Service (EPS).
EPS spokesperson Patrycia Thenu said the investigation by the department’s professional standards branch has been completed.
She said the file is still awaiting review from the head of the professional standards branch before it can be forwarded to the chief for final review and a decision.
Thenu said the EPS had no comment on the lawsuit.
The allegations in a statement of claim have not been proven in court.
