‘It was just pure retaliation’: Kelowna Mountie’s conduct questioned in traffic, civil cases

A Mountie is under scrutiny for his alleged conduct towards a Kelowna family in court, which is prompting questions over his ability to testify in criminal cases.

An RCMP officer is under scrutiny for his alleged conduct towards a Kelowna family in both civil and traffic court, which is prompting questions over his ability to testify in criminal cases.

It all started when Cpl. Matt Hare got into a dispute with Kelly Whitehouse, who builds homes for a living and owned a property next door.

Hare built a retaining wall, and then demanded payment for it shortly before Whitehouse was about to sell his neighbouring property.

“I told him, ‘I’m not paying for something that you built on your property for your benefit by yourself.’ And he said, ‘Well, if you don’t give me $5,000, I’m going to put a builder’s lien on your property,’” Whitehouse said.

“More than anything, there was no way that I was going to just roll over and hand $5,000 to a cop who was trying to shake me down,” Whitehouse said.

According to court documents, Hare claimed Whitehouse had previously agreed to pay for half of the costs.

Hare then put a lien on his neighbour’s property for $8,500, kicking off a five-year civil court battle.

“He figured that nobody would be determined enough to spend the tens upon tens of thousands of dollars to enforce their claim,” Whitehouse said.