A neighbour embroiled in a civil dispute with a Duncan RCMP officer is asking the RCMP to pay for a restraining order to keep the Mountie off his property.
Steve Simmonds, in a written complaint to the RCMP last week, said RCMP Const. Michael Pratt continues to trespass on his Shawnigan Lake property even though Pratt is the subject of an internal code-of-conduct investigation.
As proof, he sent a number of photographs taken last Tuesday which show Pratt straddling the property line and peering over the fence.
The internal investigation began last month after Simmonds complained to the RCMP about Pratt's behaviour.
Civil court documents allege Pratt has stolen landscaping boulders, ignored repeated warnings about trespassing and taped "confrontational" letters to Simmonds' door.
Now Simmonds is asking the RCMP for help in obtaining an order to keep Pratt on his side of the fence.
"My lawyer has quoted me $1,500 for this service. I believe the cost associated with this transaction should be paid by the RCMP," Simmonds said in the letter. "We have not had a proper night's sleep in days."
Pratt has said he cannot discuss the civil suit.
However, in his statement of defence, Pratt says his landscaping efforts were part of a mutually agreed- upon plan to halt erosion.
Pratt also alleges his neighbour has made vexatious calls to the police and threatened to "burn down" some or all of his property.
Pratt was convicted of assaulting a Vancouver dentist in 2001 but remained an RCMP member after attempts to dismiss him failed due to a missed deadline.
Under the RCMP Act, code-of-conduct disciplinary proceedings must start within a year of a superior officer learning of the incident.
Simmonds says he has not received a response to his most recent letter.
He said investigators predict the internal investigation should be complete within two weeks.
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