‘TOXIC’: Bullying from Vernon’s top Mountie forcing members to flee, cops say

CONTENT ADVISORY

Dave Goodyear wasn’t coping.

In the spring of 2024, the Vernon-North Okanagan Mountie was called to a scene where a nine-year-old child died. It triggered dark memories of another lost child, and in the disorder, he saw only one solution.

“I was going in my office. I’m going to close the door and shoot myself,” he says.

Instead, he found a picture one of his grandkids made and chose a different path, the one the RCMP has ostensibly encouraged through regular messages about mental health. His psychologist and doctor signed him off sick.

He expected support but instead says he was met with allegations he was lying. He says he was threatened, intimidated and forced to an unwarranted disciplinary hearing that could have cost him his job and his pension.

Goodyear chose to retire early, and should be bouncing grandchildren on his knee. Instead, he’s talking to a Vernon reporter about dangers his former teammates are being put in, bullying and harassment in the detachment and a culture of fear and intimidation from the officer in charge, Supt. Blake MacLeod. 

He’s putting his name on the record for this story so the half dozen or so other cops who corroborated and added to his claims don’t have to risk their careers.

“I felt betrayed,” Goodyear said.

“I was disgusted with, not just how he’s treated me, but how I’ve observed him treating other people,” one officer told iNFOnews.ca.

“He leads by fear,” another officer said.

“It’s toxic,” said another.

“I left Vernon only because of him,” one Mountie told us. A second said the same thing.

These are employees with few options for finding other work, a different boss or a better situation, working at a detachment that has struggled for years to stay properly staffed and a culture so rotten, members worry help will never arrive before everyone else flees.

Another constable said they transferred to another detachment to escape the toxicity.

“A lot of people would rather go work in the middle of nowhere, and as opposed to work (in) Vernon,” he said.

This toxic work culture is not only having an effect on the officers who work at the RCMP detachment but the citizens of Vernon.

“They are short (members) every shift… and they can’t get anyone to work there,” an officer said.

“There’s barely enough members to fill a shift,” another officer said. “There are text messages that go out every day for people to work.”

Another officer said there were once three officers on their shift when it should have been seven.

RCMP officers use the term “risk it out.” It’s when officers head into situations understaffed.

“There have definitely been times where they have been grossly short, or they don’t put call-outs, because they want to risk it out and see,” one member said. “But it’s a gamble… they put members at risk.”

iNFOnews.ca first exposed this problem in 2017. The same complaints are echoed almost ten years later.

Finding out the number of officers off on stress leave is difficult, but numbers from the City of Vernon (which supplies 90% of the funding) show that 20% of Mounties have been off for a month or more. In some cases, it will be maternity or paternity leave; others may have been injured on the job. But some are absent because they can’t face it.

Either way, it’s a “huge number,” National Police Federation vice president Rob Farrer told iNFOnews.ca. “What you can read into that number is there’s fewer members on the road than there should be.”

Farrer was an active member of the RCMP for two decades before he began working for the union. He said it’s not new that people have identified harassment as an issue in policing, and specifically in the RCMP.

He said morale in Vernon is “very low.” He heard the complaints from Vernon Mounties and raised the issues with the district commander.

“If there’s validity to what’s being brought up, that needs to be looked into, no question,” he said.

CASE STUDY

Goodyear was first diagnosed with PTSD in 2017. He tried to save a toddler but couldn’t do it.

He got some help and stayed on the job, was even acting Watch Commander for a time. But part of that process was understanding his triggers. Dead kids.

By 2024, he’d already had his issues with MacLeod. Vacation requests denied without good reason. He felt bullied and harassed and micro-managed while commanding the watch.

When he found the dead nine-year-old, he felt like it was over. 

“I was having these massive hours-long blackouts where I had absolutely zero idea what was happening,“ he said. 

He found himself driving on Highway 97 with no memory of how he got there. He got out of his police cruiser to check to see if he’d run anyone over.

He said he was suicidal, despondent, having panic attacks, and experiencing night terrors and not sleeping. He voluntarily took a leave to get his head together.

He thought he would see his family on the coast. He texted his supervisor and didn’t hear anything back, so presumed there was no issue.

“But boy was I wrong,” he said.

MacLeod reported it as an RCMP Code of Conduct violation of a policy requiring supervisor permission. Such a violation can have very serious implications for a Mountie, ranging from docked pay and vacation time to dismissal.

“It totally caught me off guard.”

He was docked three days’ pay, while MacLeod accused him of faking or exaggerating his symptoms to get time off.

He returned to work with strict duties to avoid triggers, all of which MacLeod ignored, he says.

“Every health care professional associated to me (said) it is a really bad idea, including RCMP Health Services,” he said.

However, he was told: Take it or we’ll cut your pay.

“I perceived it as a threat,” he said. He felt betrayed.

Goodyear said that contrary to the RCMP message of supporting officers through mental health crises, senior management at the Vernon detachment offered no help and only exacerbated his issues.

The Conduct Authority decision says the RCMP tracked his cell phone to confirm he left the detachment coverage area.

He was only two years shy of receiving a full RCMP pension but says he chose his family first and resigned. 

“I have people that actually care about me, that I owe it to them to not be… damaged any more than I already am,’ he said.

Goodyear’s decision to quit so close to the 25-year mark cost him almost $5,000 a year, and $120,000 over the next 25 years during his retirement. There was just one reason.

IT’S COMPLICATED

Goodyear can’t be fired for telling his story, but others who chose to speak to us could be. Their stories corroborate patterns he described: weaponized disciplinary hearings, intimidation, bullying and unacceptable risks.

Farrer said his Union has heard the same complaints.

Goodyear wasn’t the only Mountie subjected to an arbitrary conduct board hearing over minor issues. One case well-known in the detachment involves an officer who investigated a suspected break in at a pizza place two years ago. The officer was accused of including false information in a police report, but the conduct board saw clearly that it was a miscommunication. 

The Conduct Authority noted staffing shortages as one reason for the Mountie’s mistake, and said the issue could have been dealt with by management. There was no reason to escalate to that level. The message it sent to other officers was clear.

“All it does is create doubt and insecurities rather than confidence,” an officer said.

“Policing is not just one of those jobs where… I did an interview and I got it. No, it takes years to get good at it, but all of a sudden he could just take that away,” another officer said.

Officers say Supt. MacLeod’s use of Conduct Authority threats is destroying morale, but no one dares complain.

“It’s not an easy job,” the Mountie said. “So to then have a leader that treats you like a check box rather than a human being is, it’s hard. You should feel safe at your place of work because you’re dealing with dangers out on the road all the time, but instead, you’re just worried all the time. Is this the file that’s going to get me in shit?”

Speaking generally, the union vice president described it as a “very poor way to manage.”

When he can’t use the conduct authority, MacLeod has found other means, they say. When a civilian working in the RCMP complained about senior management, he tried to revoke her security clearance. The officers see it as retaliation. 

The City of Vernon staffer works at City Hall now, not the detachment.

Each officer was passionate about the work they did, and said they cared deeply about the community they served. It’s more than a job, almost a lifestyle. Police officers often marry other officers. They socialize together and form close bonds.

But that attachment to the RCMP and the profession also leaves them trapped when it goes sour. They can’t just quit and get another job. Getting transferred means moving to another city or province, and the RCMP might not let you go. Complaining to higher-ups is also difficult because the senior officers are described as their own little club.

They nominate each other for job advancement, and the rank-and-file see the “white shirts” as untouchable and separate. 

While the RCMP now has a union, it’s in its infancy and doesn’t have the clout that older, more established unions do.

One officer said they came to the media because there was nowhere else to go.

And every officer said that MacLeod’s management was having a detrimental effect on the detachment.

Farrer said he’d heard the same stories and he relayed this information to Supt. MacLeod’s boss, Chief Supt. Shawna Baher.

In more than 20 years of policing, one officer said they had never seen so many people off sick.

It’s hard to nail down numbers, but an officer said at one point, out of 106 RCMP officers at the detachment, 19 were off due to stress and mental health. That’s almost 20%.

In 2024, the City of Vernon funded the detachment for 60 full-time officers, but only billed for 48.10 full-time equivalent. That’s a dozen officers who aren’t at work.

In December, roughly 15 officers were off duty sick, with another five on a gradual return to work.

One officer said last summer’s numbers were “dangerously” low. The knock-on effect is far-reaching.

“The quality of policing goes down, but Blake doesn’t want it to go down. So everybody then gets in trouble,” an officer said. “Then when that happens… they get burnt out… it’s a vicious cycle.”

It’s hard to get officers to work overtime or get Mounties from other detachments to come and cover shifts. They know the reputation the detachment has and want to stay away, they say.

“We’ve lost so many good members out of Vernon,” one Mountie said.

A couple of the officers iNFOnews.ca spoke to had transferred elsewhere, another said MacLeod was one of the reasons they quit the RCMP altogether. Another spoke through tears about a lack of options.

AT THE TOP

Supt. MacLeod has been in charge of the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP since 2023 and reports to the detachment’s former top cop, now Chief Supt. Shawna Baher.

The detachment gets 90% of its funding from Vernon taxpayers, which this year will cost almost $17.5 million, up 5% from last year.

After he resigned, Goodyear formalized his complaints in an email to the local RCMP top brass, an email that spread and was read widely across the police force.

Two months later, Supt. Baher replied that MacLeod didn’t breach the RCMP Code of Conduct.

“I do, however, acknowledge that your time at the Vernon North Okanagan Detachment has left you feeling angry and upset, and that these feelings relate to how you believe you were treated by Superintendent Macleod,” she wrote him. “I want you to know that I take this feedback seriously.”

However, other Mounties iNFOnews.ca spoke to said complaints about Supt. MacLeod haven’t gone anywhere.

When reached for comment, Baher told iNFOnews.ca she couldn’t discuss specific individuals due to privacy.

“I also take seriously my responsibility to manage and supervise all Detachment Commanders within the Southeast District. It is my role to provide guidance, oversight, and support, and I do become directly involved in situations at detachments whenever it is needed to ensure issues are addressed appropriately and in a timely manner,” Chief Supt. Baher said.

The officers iNFONews.ca spoke to said Chief Supt. Baher hasn’t been able to rein MacLeod in.

iNFOnews.ca was told six Mounties were currently facing conduct authority reviews, although Chief Supt. Baher said the number was not “even close to six” but refused to confirm the actual amount.

iNFOnews.ca made several requests to Supt. MacLeod for comment but didn’t get a response.

In defending the Vernon detachment’s record, Baher pointed to a recent management review, which “reflected positive findings regarding supervision and management practices, along with high morale.”

But officers were skeptical about how such reports are made. They said it looked like it was written about a completely different detachment.

Baher didn’t give numbers when asked how many officers were off sick but directly contradicted concerns that officers were burnt out.

“I cannot attribute any absence to a specific medical cause, including stress, as that information is protected personal health data,” she said in an email. “However, I would also note that Vernon North Okanagan has among the least amount of vacancies/absences, within our larger detachments in Southeast District, at this time.”

That doesn’t appear to be true.

Figures from the City of Kamloops show that in 2024, less than five per cent of officers were absent. In 2025, that number rose to seven per cent.

Figures supplied by the City of Penticton were less precise but showed a roughly 12% absence rate in 2024, which jumped to 15% in 2025. The City of Kelowna wouldn’t provide figures.

In contrast, Vernon had 20% absenteeism in 2024, and 16% in 2025.

“Walk around the detachment, they don’t have enough bodies to fill the watches, overtime every day,” one Mountie said.

AGAINST THE LAW?

Like nearly every officer, they would prefer not to air their grievances, but they’re not being heard internally, not from MacLeod. Baher’s public defensiveness well illustrates the rock and the hard place they find themselves between.

They’re not sure what to do when orders appear to be unlawful. Under Supt. Macleod, an accused must be held for 24 hours.

“If you release somebody before 24 hours, he gets angry,” one says. “Even though they are a criminal, everybody has rights.”

Complaining about it is “disastrous.”

They’re worried charges could be dropped but they say MacLeod is adamant. 

“If that’s his policy, that could cause problems… that is straight up illegal and police can’t be breaking the law like that,” defence lawyer Claire Mastop told iNFOnews.ca.

The defence lawyer said the law states that the RCMP has an obligation to release a person “as soon as reasonably practicable,” which varies from situation to situation.

“It’s terrible for the justice system because when you have the police, a major arm of the justice system, not following the rule of law, and if we don’t have that, everything falls apart,” she said. 

Supt. MacLeod is also accused of interfering with and cancelling a ticket written by an officer. 

Despite many popular culture examples of this, it’s rare in Canada. One officer said that in more than 20 years with the RCMP, they have never been asked by top brass to interfere with any kind of ticket, but this incident is well known at the detachment.

In another matter, they allege that Macleod got involved when a friend of his got into a verbal altercation in a parking lot with another civilian over a trivial matter.

Police arrived to find MacLeod’s friend arguing with the other man but witnessed no crime.

However, MacLeod insisted the man was arrested. The file went nowhere, but it frustrated the officers having to deal with it.

These are tactics that none of the officers have ever seen in their careers.

“Just because somebody is an asshole doesn’t qualify for you to get arrested,” one officer said.

For her part, Chief Supt. Baher said she assigned a senior investigator from the district office to conduct inquiries about these matters, but was adamant officers needed to come forward and speak to her even after it was reiterated that they were too scared.

From the union’s perspective, the officers should be commended for going public.

“Because even if everything was done properly by the book, there’s still these members have this feeling, and that is something,” Farrer said. “Even if the codes all were technically correct, and even if the harassment technically didn’t meet (that) definition, if their experience is that people are actually leaving, then there’s still a problem.”

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

The officers who spoke to us don’t know.

They want to believe MacLeod’s uncorrected management style doesn’t represent the wider aims and ambitions of the RCMP. They want to believe MacLeod is the outlier.

Goodyear has heard for years the RCMP cares about mental health of its members. If that exists elsewhere, that wasn’t his experience.

“I can’t unknow what I know. I can’t unsee what I’ve seen. I can’t unsmell. I can’t unhear,” Corp. Goodyear said. “Those things are with me for life.” 

He feels he deserves better as do his former colleagues.

There is no mechanism to removing an RCMP police chief. It’s unclear if a mayor and council have the necessary teeth to make changes they require.

The officers are desperate for help but they’re stuck with MacLeod while Baher ponders the problem.