RCMP boss hurt G20 security efforts: letter from senior Mountie

[CHIMO]

A senior Mountie commander told the federal government that RCMP Commissioner William Elliott “disrupted” the federal government’s billion-dollar security operation for the G8 and G20 summits – simply by showing up for the events.

“Despite being advised not to attend the summit command centres on June 25, 2010, the commissioner chose to attend, and in doing so, completely disrupted operations,” Mike McDonell, then an RCMP assistant commissioner, wrote in a letter to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.

The scathing complaint was sent last July, just a couple of weeks after the summits. It sparked a federal review of Mr. Elliott’s leadership, but its contents at the time were not known publicly, and a copy was only recently obtained by The Globe and Mail.

Then commanding the RCMP’s Ontario operations, Mr. McDonell raised a litany of criticisms of Mr. Elliott’s leadership. The most pointed being that Canada’s top cop may have had a negative impact on the biggest security operation in Canadian history.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/rcmp-boss-hurt-g20-security-efforts-letter-from-senior-mountie/article1762946/

[Spazito]

1. I'm not sure what I think about this yet...

but reading the complaints by Mr. McDonell I get the sense this guy has a personal beef with Mr. Elliott as much as any professional differences. When he writes this:

"In the letter, Mr. Elliott was also faulted for dressing down subordinates in a “brutal, disrespectful, intimidating and careless” manner, to the point that senior commanders suffered something akin to “battered wife syndrome.”

The letter further said that Mr. Elliott has failed to make necessary friendships with U.S. police partners."


It raises some questions in my mind, ie How does one "make necessary friendships with U.S. police partners"?

"...senior commanders suffered something akin to "battered wife syndrome." This strikes me as over the top hyperbole seeing as we are talking about senior commanders of the RCMP for crying out loud.


I am not defending Mr. Elliott, I haven't made up my mind on him yet but I think Mr. McDonell has a personal gripe here.

[CHIMO]

2. Whatever

But should he have been at the G20 command center? In my mind the chain of command at the site seemed to be in disarray at the time. Was it because of his presence?

[Spazito]

3. It depends on what he did while he was there, imo...

and there are no details about that, merely that he showed up. If merely showing caused chaos then one would have to ask how organized and disciplined was it in the first place. Like I said, I am not defending the guy, just pointing out the guy who wrote the letter seems to have a personal chip on his shoulder, that's all.

I don't know if Mr. Elliott is a major league asshole or not, maybe he is but I certainly wouldn't make up my mind based on the letter in this article.

[CHIMO]

4. I am not taking sides.

What was the chain of command for the G20 security?

Ever since the RCMP stole the 2006 election it is obvious that things are screwed up.

With senior officers being bounced/forced out of the force, what are we going to have? A politically controlled mafia?

Where there is smoke there is fire. Just at a slower rate.

Is it another red barn fire?

[Spazito]

5. That's just it...

Here's my cynical take on the RCMP. It is an insular, self-protecting organization which has shown by it's own actions that it needs a MAJOR overhaul. The outcry from Canadians was great enough that the Cons put Elliott there, a guy with no roots to the RCMP, an outsider. Seeing as it is the Cons doing the appointing and I don't trust them as far as I can throw them, Elliott is questionable as well.

Now, Mr. McDonell, the man who wrote the letter is, imo, the ultimate insider, came up through the ranks and, given the major problems within the RCMP, I don't tend to believe him either. Is his grievance about an outsider stepping on what were over-protected toes or are they genuine? You sure can't tell by that letter, imo.

I agree there is smoke but who is blowing it? It is, as yet, unclear, imo.