Whistleblower in RCMP probe says he participated in group chats to 'fit in'

The whistleblower who sparked a police conduct investigation into three officers accused of participating in racist group chats has admitted to sending offensive messages of his own to fit in.

During cross-examination on Tuesday, defence lawyers zeroed in on Const. Sam Sodhi's contributions to group chats at the centre of the police misconduct investigation against officers Philip Dick, Ian Solven and Mersad Mesbah, who were working in the Coquitlam detachment.

The police conduct board was presented message exchanges between Sodhi and Dick in which Sodhi referred to himself as "Simran Singh Baljinder Preet," with defence lawyers suggesting he was mocking a Punjabi name.

Other messages included jokes about Punjabi accents and Sodhi referencing that he was "white-washed."

During his cross-examination, Sodhi said he seldom sent messages like that, but when he did, it was only because he felt the pressure to fit in.

"I'm trying to fit in a very toxic environment, and I'm degrading myself to do that," he said. "The reason I came forward was because I could not take this anymore."

"I know why I did it. I'm not a racist," he added. "That is wrong what I did, but what these people did was far worse."

Sodhi's complaints about his experiences working for the Coquitlam RCMP sparked an internal investigation that reviewed more than 600,000 messages posted to the police agency's internal mobile data chat logs and officer group chats on WhatsApp and Signal. According to the search warrant, investigators found "frequently offensive" language used by officers, including "homophobic and racist slurs."

Sodhi has alleged he was systemically bullied and harassed, which took a negative toll on his mental and physical health and his career trajectory.

Dick, Solven and Mesbah are accused of harassment and discreditable conduct.

Relationships questioned

On Tuesday, defence lawyer Brad Kielmann suggested Sodhi could "dish it out but couldn't take it."

He suggested Sodhi hurled insults at Dick, Solven, and Mesbah, which Sodhi denied.

Kielmann also brought up a phone call between Sodhi and another officer, during which Sodhi began speaking negatively about Solven, who had overheard the call.

"On that call, you called officer Solven a piece of shit, is that correct?" said Kielmann.

"He was being a piece of shit, and he is a piece of shit," Sodhi responded.

"What you didn't know was you were on speaker phone, did you?" said Kielmann.

"If I was or wasn't, it doesn't matter," said Sodhi.

In his testimony on Monday, Sodhi alleged he was overtly bullied and ridiculed by Solven in person, over police radios in front of other officers, and in group chats during his time at the detachment.

Kielmann also referenced performance reviews that Sodhi read and signed off on during his two years there, which said he was "well-liked" by his peers.

Sodhi said he was too afraid to add to his evaluation that he had any issues or conflicts with co-workers, nor did he make any requests to move watches, because he was afraid it would hurt his standing within the RCMP.

"I wanted my career to continue," he said.