Fraud charges against former Fort Liard, N.W.T., RCMP officer dropped
Crown said there isn't a reasonable prospect of conviction
The Crown has decided not to pursue charges against an RCMP officer and his wife who were facing multiple counts of fraud over $5,000 during their time in Fort Liard, N.W.T.
On Friday, the Crown stayed all charges facing Cpl. Curtis Ping and Darlene Ping.
"Following the conclusion of the preliminary inquiry and a careful review of the file, the Crown was no longer satisfied that there was a reasonable prospect of conviction," a spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said in an email. "Accordingly, a stay of proceedings was entered."
Cpl. Curtis Ping faced two counts of fraud over $5,000 for allegedly defrauding the RCMP between Oct. 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019. He was also charged with breach of trust, related to allegedly signing fraudulent time sheets in connection with his duties as RCMP detachment commander in Fort Liard.
The N.W.T. RCMP announced the charges publicly in July 2020. It suspended Ping with pay and launched its own internal code of conduct investigation.
Darlene Ping faced two counts of fraud over $5,000, as well as one count of "fraud altered document" and one count of "falsifying employment record."
In May, the case was moved to Alberta from the N.W.T. due to the close relationship between prosecutors and police in the territory. The Pings were scheduled to be tried in the Court of the Queen's Bench of Alberta in December.