Osoyoos RCMP officer disciplined for naked window incident

An Osoyoos Mountie was docked 10 days pay and lost some vacation time for standing naked in his front room window and possibly fondling himself in full view of two teenage girls.

Const. Ryan Fulcher was off duty Sept. 19, 2018, when two teenaged girls, ages 16 and 17, walked by and saw him illuminated in the window where he “appeared to be possibly masturbating,” according to a disciplinary ruling for discreditable conduct issued on the matter in January of this year.

One girl reported that she thought Fulcher was fondling himself while the other reported he was “kind of touching (himself) but like not really (he was)just kinda, I don’t know, just standing there.”

The girls immediately returned to one of their homes and reported the incident to one of their mothers, who drove with them to Fulcher’s house where she, too, saw him naked. She testified that his hand was on his penis.

She called the RCMP at 11:34 p.m. that night and an investigation ensued.

After a series of conduct hearing delays, Fulcher did admit he was naked in the window. He said he was not fondling himself but it was possible his hand briefly touched his penis.

“I find that Const. Fulcher was exposed in view of members of the public and that he did, no matter how briefly it may have been, touch his penis,” Insp. Colin Miller wrote in the conduct board decision.

“I find that such activity would bring discredit to the RCMP and that his behaviour is sufficiently related to his duties and functions as to provide the Force with a legitimate interest in disciplining him. Therefore, I find his conduct to be discreditable and, as a result, I find the allegation against him to be established on a balance of probabilities.”

Fulcher was docked 10 day’s pay and had to give up 10 days of vacation.

His representative at the hearing said Fulcher had an excellent career in the RCMP and led a team that investigated “serious organized crime.”

He continues to see a psychologist and is taking steps to make sure that such behaviour is not repeated.

While those were mitigating factors, Miller noted there were aggravating factors other than exposing himself in public, including the fact that his house is close to a primary school and his actions attracted media attention.

“Const. Fulcher has been given an opportunity to continue his career with the RCMP,” Miller wrote.

“However, any future contravention of the Code of Conduct will be seriously reviewed by the appropriate conduct authority and could lead to his dismissal from the Force. I trust that, in the future, he will be more cognizant of his surroundings and conduct himself in a manner that is in accordance with the expectations that the public holds in regard to members of the RCMP.”

Fulcher was also charged criminally with committing an indecent act but those charges were dropped in October of 2020.

READ MORE: Indecency charge against Osoyoos RCMP officer dropped

“As a member of the RCMP, Const. Fulcher ought to have known the potential impact of engaging in this type of behaviour and cannot be protected from accountability due to his being inside his residence,” Miller wrote.

“I find that a reasonable person in society, with knowledge of all the relevant circumstances, including the realities of policing in general and the RCMP in particular, would view his actions as likely to bring discredit to the Force.”

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