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Surrey Six Mountie sues RCMP, alleging harassment and negligence

David Attew, who was convicted of misconduct during the probe of the murder case, is suing his ex-bosses for damages.

A former RCMP officer who was involved in the Surrey Six murder investigation and was convicted of misconduct is suing the Mounties over a number of allegations including that his bosses harassed him, overworked him and ignored his mental-health issues.

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David Alexander Attew, who was a senior investigator in the notorious murder case from 2007, pleaded guilty to a charge under the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act that involved him kissing and touching a witness while he was alone in a room with her. He received a six-month conditional sentence in January.


The former staff sergeant says in his lawsuit that at the time he was assigned to the Surrey Six case he was already dealing with issues of “deteriorating” health caused by injuries from a motor vehicle accident and overwork. He says his supervisors were aware of the health issues but asked him to assume the role of team leader in the Surrey Six probe since the team leader at the time had done something to upset management.

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“Not only was the plaintiff expected to lead a massive murder investigation, he was also still on-call for any other homicide investigations that occurred in the Lower Mainland at that time,” says his notice of civil claim. “As a result, the plaintiff’s workload demands increased significantly, requiring more and more overtime, resulting in less and less opportunities for the plaintiff to obtain restorative sleep, causing the plaintiff’s mental health to continue to deteriorate.”

Attew, one of four Surrey Six Mounties convicted of offences, said that he expressed to his supervisors, including Supts. Bill Fordy, Kevin Hackett and Wayne Rideout, and Commissioner Bob Paulson, on many occasions that he was having an “extremely difficult” time coping with the job but was told there was no room for failure. His bosses told him that the investigation was a matter of “national priority” and he was to do whatever was required of him to solve the terrible crime, he says.

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RCMP investigate the murders of six men in a Surrey highrise in 2007. Photo by Ian Smith /Vancouver Sun

The former cop says that due to a lack of appropriate staffing and a lack of appropriate experience among the few staff that were assigned, he was forced to assume roles which should have gone to more-qualified members. He was assigned to get close to several suspects with the intention to turn them against one another, a role that would typically have gone to a “human-source” intelligence officer trained in witness handling.

Attew says the move caused a significant risk to him as well as the public but was told that the case must be solved at “all costs” and, despite ultimately succeeding in his tasks, the burden weighed heavily on him.

The former officer says he assumed “this double life” for two years and experienced many threats on his life and was put in many high-risk and dangerous situations, resulting in him asking for time off as his health was rapidly deteriorating and he was suffering from work-related PTSD symptoms.

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“At this point, the plaintiff felt run ragged beyond repair. He was frequently throwing up in bathrooms at work and was having to ingest various medications prescribed to him to help ease his physical and mental difficulties,” the suit alleges.

Attew, who resigned from the force in 2014, says an added stress caused by the RCMP was that he was told that if he wanted to proceed to trial in his misconduct case, he would have to pay the legal costs, to the tune of $200,000-$400,000, which ultimately resulted in him entering a guilty plea to avoid the financial burden.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said in an email that the RCMP had no comment and were not able to confirm that all parties have been officially served with the lawsuit.

“Regardless, generally once served the RCMP would discuss the matter with our legal counsel (Department of Justice) and they will file an official response to the court through the legal process as per any timelines,” she said.

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