And another RCMP Officer caught drunk behind the wheel...but no worries; no charges have been laid

Who knew that drinking and driving was this popular among RCMP officers?

Only five days after an RCMP officer failed a breathalyzer test after being involved in a fatal collision in Tsawwassen, B.C., CTV has learned of another incident involving a Lower Mainland law enforcer and allegations of drinking and driving.

RCMP confirm a female New Westminster Police officer was involved in a crash involving alcohol.

The 47-year-old officer was driving an unmarked police van when she collided with two or more signs driving eastbound near the Westview exit in North Vancouver's Upper Levels Highway Oct. 17.

I bet the officer wasn't formally charged:

No charges have been laid, but the off-duty officer has promised to appear in court Dec. 17. She is facing impaired driving charges. Her name has not been released.

I told you so, and neither was her name released (yet). No favouritism of course; how can the common RCMP practice of refusing to charge one of their own (think Dziekanski) be favouritism?

UPDATE
Lots of confusion (moi inclu) on what is considered "being charged". Can anyone explain the phenomenon to me? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to understand now that the process of a successful conviction works like this:

step 1. arrest
step 2. charges (informal) laid by police/RCMP
step 3. formally charged by judge

But where in the process do the police/RCMP release names? From Wally Oppal I get the impression that this happens at step 3, after being formally charged by a judge:

B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal denies the RCMP officer involved in a fatal collision in Tsawwassen this past weekend is receiving favourable treatment.

Oppal points out no member of the public is ever named prior to the laying of a charge.

Informal charges (step 2) have been laid, that's why we know about the pending court case on January 15th, 2009. But then how do we explain the following four examples?

Step 2: example 1
Chilliwack drug war heats up
Curtis Wayne Vidal, 22, Chad Hansen, 21, and Martin Snowden, 22, face assault and weapons charges.

Step 2: example 2
RCMP have shut down a known drug house and arrested six people.

Police raided the 9th Avenue home and found a large quantity of cocaine and marijuana. Shannon Hernandez-Zuniga, 29, Sundown Bill Steiger, 32, Travis Starblanket, 20, Wesley Teal, 25, Chan Van Troung, 45, and Michael Bruce, 18, face a string of drug charges.

Step 2: example 3
Richmond - Off-Duty Officer Assaulted, Charges Laid
On December 9th, 2007, at approximately 2:20 am, an off-duty RCMP officer observed three intoxicated males harassing a female in the drive-thru line up at a Richmond Restaurant. The off-duty officer approached the males and told them to leave the female alone. [...] The three males immediately became verbally abusive towards the officer. [...] Richmond RCMP officers responded and all three males were arrested. [...] The off duty officer suffered minor injuries.

Charges have now been approved for the three males, they are scheduled to appear in Richmond Court on January 22nd and 24th, 2008. They are charged with Assault of a Police Officer and are identified as: Darcy BARBER, 21 yrs old, from Burnaby, Jeffrey FLUNEY, 26 yrs old, from Richmond, Christopher RUSSELL, 25 yrs old, from Surrey

Step 2:example 4
Nickelback front man faces impaired driving charge
Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger has been charged with impaired driving, after being stopped by the RCMP in Surrey last month. [...]Kroeger, who has a home in Abbotsford, is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 25, facing charges of impaired driving and driving with a blood alcohol level over .08. His lawyer says the singer should be treated as innocent until proven guilty.

In all four the examples a court case was scheduled but had not taken place yet (as far as I can tell), but the names had already been released. Is Wally Oppal lying or am I missing something?

LINKS
- Getting it Right: RCMP officers enjoy drinking and driving 1
- CTV: RCMP officers enjoy drinking and driving 2
- Buckdog: RCMP officers don't get preferential treatment; we solely refuse to charge them
- Edmonton Sun:Wally Oppal's non-denial on RCMP's favouritism: but why does he have to be such a jerk about it?

RCMP officer Benjamin Monty Robinson involved in Robert Dziekanski killing AND main suspect in drunk-driving-causing-death incident last Saturday

RCMP officer Benjamin Monty Robinson, one of the four officers involved in the killing of Robert Dziekanski, has been caught drunk-driving and killing 21 year old Orion Hutchinson last Saturday.

One of the four RCMP officers involved in the Tasering of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski is facing charges of impaired driving causing death after a collision in Tsawwassen Saturday.

However, Delta police -- who are investigating the crash -- have refused to identify the officer until he makes his first court appearance on Jan. 15 and is formally charged.

Yes, the police is always eager to come up with names, except when it involves one of their colleges; Getting it Right did find the answer to who it was here:

An RCMP officer facing charges of impaired driving causing death in Delta is refusing to comment on the charges against him.

Reached by The Vancouver Sun on his cellphone Wednesday, Cpl. Benjamin Monty Robinson hung up as soon as a reporter identified himself.

Follow-up calls to Robinson went to voice mail and messages left for Robinson were not returned.

Robinson is due to appear in Surrey Provincial Court on Jan. 15 after he was allegedly involved in a collision Saturday night that left 21-year-old Orion Hutchinson dead.

To be honest with you, I think the idea of releasing the names of suspects is a bad practice to begin with. In the Netherlands all media is used to address suspects (but also convicted criminals) only by the first letter of their last name (that would be Benjamin R. in this case); and I am in favour of such a policy. But if the full name does need to be exposed on ideological grounds (and the Law and Order types in N-America are convinced it does) than at least be consistent about it.

Footnote: Investigations into the death of Robert Dziekanski have been delayed AGAIN. We still don't know who the other three suspected killers were. How's that justice and consistency working for you?

UPDATE:
-Read also the Macleans "blog"-post by Chris Selley: "Suspended with pay"

UPDATE 2
-Facebook Group: R.I.P Orion Hutchinson... STOP IMPAIRED DRIVING!!

UPDATE 3
- Benjamin Robinson was supervisor during taser killing of the Robert Dziekanski
This doesn't look good, folks. Why is this suspect of multiple killings still out on the streets? Why are out citizens not protected from these reckless killers? Does an RCMP batch give one a licence to taser someone to death? Does an RCMP barch give one a license to a hit-and-run while drunk? What's wrong with our RCMP?

LINKS
- Mounties in trouble, again
- Taser Mountie faces drunk-driving-causing-death charge
- Buckdog: Robert Dziekanski's Mother Threatens Legal Action Against RCMP