Calgary police officer abused waitress in strip club – then other police officers lied for him: court documents

In October 2021, a group of Calgary Police Service officers were drinking at a local strip club when one of the officers sexually assaulted a female co-worker and the others lied about it, newly released court documents show.

The documents – an agreed statement of facts and a court transcript – were submitted as part of an officer’s plea to a sexual assault charge filed earlier this year.

Judge Gurluv Singh was given a conditional release, meaning he will not be convicted if he completes his probationary period.

In sentencing, Judge John Bascom found that Singh’s actions were “spontaneous and alcohol-related.”

“Sincerely remorseful”

Bascom, previously an “exemplary CPS employee,” found Singh’s behavior to be “anomalous and out of character.”

Singh’s lawyer Shamsher Kothari said his client was “sincerely remorseful and takes full responsibility for his actions.”

“The fact remains that this is a very unfortunate situation that involves completely uncharacteristic actions and has resulted in a particularly serious error,” Kothari said.

Details of the events at Blondies All Star Cabaret can be found in the agreed statement of facts.

On October 9, 2021, an “entire district team” of off-duty CPS officers were drinking and “socializing” at Blondies, a strip club in the Beltline.

Colleague wanted to take a full-body photo

The complainant worked at Blondies as a “shooter girl” and sold alcoholic beverages.

The woman approached a table of off-duty officers with a tray full of shots.

One of the men – who was not named in the documents – touched a vaccine on the tray. Due to COVID rules at the time, the employee explained that the man now had to purchase the vaccine.

The woman described him as “annoying.”

“He did not want to buy the shooter and instead tried to negotiate something more entertaining than simply buying the shooter as a gift for the defendant,” the agreed statement of facts states.

Victim grabbed from behind

He then asked if the bullet could have been fired from any part of the woman’s body, specifically between her breasts, and referred to this as a “hooter shooter.”

The victim refused.

The waitress finally agreed to balance the shot on her bottom while she bent over.

She told the off-duty police officer that there could be no physical contact.

As she balanced the shooter, Singh, who was standing directly behind the woman, grabbed her hips and ground his pelvis against her.

She stood up, whereupon the shooter spat.

Officials “refused” physical contact

Singh “immediately broke off contact,” which lasted “less than three seconds.”

According to the consistent statement of facts, Singh was unaware of the agreement between the waiter and his colleague not to maintain physical contact.

The victim left the table and told her manager what had happened.

The manager returned to the table and confronted the off-duty officers.

“The members denied that the complainant had been touched.”

Surveillance video confirmed the victim’s story

The manager went to pick up the surveillance video and found that it confirmed his employee’s version of events.

When the manager returned to the officers’ table, all four had left.

The incident was reported and after a two-year investigation, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) laid charges.

The plaintiff refused to provide a victim impact statement for the court.

The CPS confirmed that Singh is pending a disciplinary hearing under the Alberta Police Act and is suspended without pay.

ASIRT investigates when police operations result in deaths or injuries, as well as when there are allegations of serious police misconduct.