WARNING: This story contains offensive language.

British Columbia’s Minister of Public Safety has condemned the alleged conduct of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers in Coquitlam who are accused of making racist, homophobic and sexist comments in a private online chat group.

CBC News on Friday revealed details of allegations in a search warrant seeking evidence that led to disciplinary action against three Mounties – including jokes about using Tasers on unarmed black people and mocking victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

A search warrant obtained to access the phone records of an officer who complained about what he described as “abhorrent” behaviour by his colleagues contains graphic examples allegedly taken from both a chat group on the messaging app Signal and the RCMP’s own records.

Constables Philip Dick, Ian Solven and Mersad Mesbah face dismissal and have been suspended since June 2021. Their code of conduct hearings have been adjourned until March next year.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth, who is running for re-election in the constituency of Port Coquitlam, where the Mounties worked, said he was “absolutely disgusted” by the comments contained in the document.

“I think that says something about the people involved that this is not the culture that we expect from police officers, it is not the culture that the RCMP expects. This is absolutely unacceptable,” he said.

“To be honest, it’s not a culture we expect or accept anywhere.”

A review of comments posted on RCMP computers includes statements such as, “Why do dark-skinned men have such unusually high voices?”, “As an idiot would say… ‘toxic'” or “I was just pulled over by a driver because of the colour of his skin.”

In response to calls for a review of all cases handled by the three officers, Farnworth said the RCMP would conduct a full investigation into the case.

“My deputy, the director of police services, is continuing the work of the ministry, the work of the government, while we are in the election campaign,” he said. “I have absolutely no doubt that the director of police services will clarify this with the RCMP’s E-Division.”

The National Police Federation, which represents RCMP officers across the country, declined to comment for this article when asked by CBC News.

WATCH | Internal investigation reveals shocking comments:

Internal investigation alleges RCMP officers copied ‘disgusting’ comments from private chat | Canada Tonight

Three RCMP officers from Coquitlam, BC, face termination for alleged violations of the police code of conduct related to sexist and racist messages allegedly posted on a private chat group. Temitope Oriola, a criminology professor at the University of Alberta, speaks on Canada Tonight about the RCMP’s internal investigation.

Domestic violence advocates not surprised

Among the details contained in the search warrant is an allegation that one of the officers facing disciplinary action joked about a domestic violence victim outside of the chat group, calling her a “fucking stupid bitch who should have worn a face mask.”

Angela Marie MacDougall, chief executive of Battered Women’s Support Services, said the comments were “unfortunately all too predictable” and would deter women victims of domestic violence from contacting the police.

“We know that many RCMP members – we see this in our own work – have beliefs that are not conducive to effective investigations and the care of victims and survivors,” she told CBC News.

“And this disclosure, this information, confirms that.”

MacDougall said she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to invest more resources into policing to address domestic violence and sexual violence, and that funds should instead be redirected to community organizations such as halfway houses and victim support programs.

Professor: Recruitment needs to be improved

Rick Parent, an associate professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University and a former Delta Police Department officer, said the issues revealed by the alleged conversations show that recruitment for British Columbia police has become a “major problem.”

“Police departments are running out of personnel. They’re competing with other police departments for good people,” he said. “And sometimes they hire people who shouldn’t be police officers. And that’s kind of the reality.”

Parent said all cases handled by officers must be reviewed and that the vast majority of Coquitlam Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers do a good job.

“Ultimately, it’s about recruiting new employees,” he said. “Because past behavior is an indicator of future behavior. And … you can only change so much and you can only monitor so much.”

A lawyer for Solven did not respond to an email seeking comment and other officials could not be reached.

An RCMP spokesman declined to comment on the allegations during a hearing before a conduct committee.