Mountie called an incurable liar
Medical discharge recommended for constable, who may still appeal
RCMP Const. Susan Gastaldo, who faced dismissal after having a sexual relationship with her boss, was told Thursday by RCMP adjudicators that she is an incurable liar who should be handed a medical discharge.
Gastaldo and Staff-sgt. Travis Pearson were found guilty of having sex in a police car in the spring of 2009, while Gastaldo worked for Pearson in the “Special O” surveillance unit in the Lower Mainland.
“She has levelled a false accusation against Staff-sgt. [Travis] Pearson and . . . lost all credibility.”
— Supt. John Reid
RCMP adjudicators rejected Gastaldo’s claims that she had been raped once, and was coerced into an ongoing affair with Pearson. They judged the affair consensual, and said Gastaldo could be fired for falsely accusing Pearson.
On Thursday, Gastaldo was docked seven days’ pay, reprimanded and told she has lost all credibility and should not be a police officer due to her “intractable” lies.
In his oral reasons, Supt. John Reid said that Gastaldo lied to her husband about her affair when he discovered incriminating emails, and then internalized his suggestion that she had been raped.
Reid said Gastaldo adamantly “continues to believe a false accusation,” because of anxiety in losing her marriage and family.
To support this theory, Reid cited evidence from two doctors that shows Gastaldo suffers from “generalized anxiety disorder,” and thus takes “the path of least stress” when faced with troubling realities.
“She has levelled a false accusation against Staff-sgt. Pearson and she has lost all credibility,” Reid said. “How can she possibly tell her husband the truth now?”
Reid suggested RCMP brass issue Gastaldo a medical discharge. However, that is not a binding recommendation and RCMP Assistant Commissioner Craig Callens will make the final decision on her fate.
Gastaldo and her husband, Chris Williams, hugged and appeared to be relieved.
However, her lawyer, Larry Mcgonigal, said Gastaldo will appeal the ruling to Paulsen.
Mcgonigal maintained adjudicators were biased and made legal errors, including rejecting expert evidence about Gastaldo’s psychological condition.
Gastaldo’s appeal will dispute the board’s ruling that she was involved in a consensual affair, and falsely accused Pearson of rape.
Earlier in February, the adjudicators said that Pearson abused his authority by taking advantage of “meaningful” meetings in his duty to bring Gastaldo back onto the unit from sick leave.
Pearson was docked 10 days’ pay, which will cost him about $3,900.