A former RCMP officer is suing two former colleagues over an alleged prank involving a homemade bomb.
Tyrone Hempston’s lawsuit, filed December 22 in B.C. Supreme Court, alleges two former co-workers, Nigel Blake and Martin Simpson, jokingly gave Hempston, who worked on the bomb squad, a mechanical doll which then blew up in his hands.
“Blake and Simpson conspired to shock the plaintiff by placing an SD-100 inside a Dirty Bertie mechanical doll that was owned by the plaintiff,” reads Hempston’s notice of civil claim. “They then replaced the doll on his desk with the intent that he would pick up the doll and cause the SD-100 to explode.”
Hempston alleges that Blake and Simpson knew or ought to have known that their actions violated the RCMP explosive disposal unit’s “zero horseplay policy.”
Hempston claims the detonation of the doll prompted him to injure his hands, fingers and thumb, requiring numerous surgeries.
He also claims to have suffered nerve damage, carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands, weak wrists and hearing loss among other ailments which combined to force him to miss work for long periods and lose out on the potential for advancement.
For that, he seeks damages. Hempston’s claims have not been proven in court.
Glen Korstrom
@GlenKorstrom