CALGARY – No charges will be laid against a man caught on camera yelling racial slurs at a Calgary cab driver in 2013.
After a 90-day review of the case, the RCMP concluded charges should have been laid, but won’t be.
READ MORE: Man who unleashed racist abuse on Calgary cab driver won’t face charges
“Bottom line is our member made a mistake,” Inspector Gord Sage told Global News Thursday.
“My frustration as well as everybody’s is why wasn’t this taken into the criminal courts as it should have been? Without a doubt the evidence was overwhelming. The investigator should have laid an information in the criminal courts.”
Officers reopened their investigation into the incident in July 2015 after Global News aired exclusively-obtained CCTV footage of the verbal attack.
READ MORE: RCMP reopen investigation into disturbing case of racist abuse of Calgary cabbie
RCMP said on Thursday that Chad Pasloski would have faced a charge of mischief, but because the original investigating officer mishandled the case, that won’t happen.
Police confirmed the officer was out of line when she decided the passenger should pay restitution instead of being charged.
At the time, cab driver Sardar Qayyum repeatedly turned down any money, but the officer gave him an envelope with $900 cash and told him that was the end of the case.
“I feel horrible for him not having his day in court. On behalf of the RCMP, we’re very apologetic to him, and bottom line: he should have had his day in court. We took away that opportunity for him to have that day in court,” said Sage.
“Under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms under Section 7 you cannot be prosecuted for something or penalized for something twice, so since the member went down the route with restitution and the person paid quite a significant amount of money…it would not be in the public’s interests to prosecute.
“That’s why it’s a dangerous practice to even go down the road of restitution because that’s what the criminal courts are for.”
Greg Dunn, defence counsel for Pasloski told Global News the outcome of the RCMP investigation is what he expected.
“Although my client is ostensibly relieved with the conclusions of the investigation and review, he nonetheless accepts full responsibility for his uncivilized behaviour that evening and has taken steps to address his issues with anger and alcohol.”
Qayyum doesn’t know what is worse: the passenger getting away with the crime, or the officer allowing it to happen.
“This is so frustrating. I’m so angry reading this,” said Qayyum as he read through a written explanation of the RCMP findings.
READ MORE: Shocking case of racist cabbie abuse in Calgary caught on video
The officer involved has faced verbal discipline, as well as a letter on her employment file.
“Because of her I couldn’t get justice.
“That guy should have got charged at the time and now, after almost two years, I still didn’t get justice…I’m so frustrated,” Qayyum said.
In a meeting with Qayyum Thursday, Inspector Sage offered an apology.
But also upsetting to Qayyum is the stance from the RCMP that this would not have been a hate crime.
“That is absolutely horrible, vulgar, bigoted, it’s racist but it’s not illegal in Canada.”
Just down the highway from Airdrie, in Calgary, a similar incident has led to charges against a woman, the case is being prosecuted as a hate crime.
“It was absolutely a hate crime and he was a racist, ” said Qayyum who now considering his options. If he chooses, he can take the case to the Civilian Review Complaints Commission.
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