Summerland man files lawsuit against multiple RCMP officers and mayor

A Summerland resident who has a contentious relationship with local council and is well-known in the community for his litigious activities has filed suit against the local RCMP and mayor.

In two separate lawsuits, Brad Besler is claiming defamation from Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes and allegation of misfeasance, along with neglect of duty, neglect of investigation and conspiracy against six RCMP officers, along with the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Besler no stranger to butting heads with the district, frequently appearing at council meetings to voice displeasure, filing Freedom of Information requests and taking to social media to share his opinions about mayor and council.

Last week, Besler won part of his appeal to pursue a case against Crown prosecutors alongside his brother.

The two have been in and out of court for years, facing charges and filling lawsuits over their volatile relationship with What the Fungus, a Summerland farm that borders the Besler property.

They successfully overturned a conviction for criminal mischief in 2021, and have since gone after the police and prosecutors, alleging wrongdoing during the investigation and ensuing trial.

Claims included that the defendants "violated the Crown Counsel Act”, “conspired to mislead the Court”, “acted in bad faith and displayed unmistakable bias and negligence”, “had conflicts of interest”, “violated the BC Prosecution Service’s charge assessment guidelines", “failed to objectively and fairly assess all available evidence” and “engaged in Misfeasance in Public Office," according to court documents.

Views on RCMP actions

Besler filed another lawsuit on March 5, 2025 against the RCMP, which stems from an issue with investigators allegedly ignoring evidence with a case and then allegedly mishandling his complaint over conduct of the investigation.

According to the lawsuit, Besler alleges that he provided RCMP with six different phone numbers that sent harassing, threatening and sexually explicit text messages and images to him from May 27 2023 to Aug. 1 2023.

He claims that the officer in charge did not conduct the investigation properly and displayed an "improper attitude" to discourage him from contacting the RCMP.

As well, he alleges that it was a conflict of interest for two other officers to be involved in the case since both members were previously named as defendants in another civil lawsuit Besler had filed against them.

Besler also claimed that he wanted a review done by an RCMP detachment outside of the South Okanagan, which wasn't done.

He is seeking punitive damages against the RCMP, claiming have suffered damages from their actions including "undue stress, anxiety, fear for his safety and humiliation, due to mental and emotional stress.

Castanet reached out to the RCMP for comment, which Staff Sergeant Kris Clark responded in an emailed statement that "As this matter is before the courts and the RCMP is subject to it, it would be inappropriate for us to comment. Once served, the Department of Justice reviews all notices of claim and a statement of defence for the RCMP will be issued through the appropriate court process."

Claiming mayor defamation

On March 12, 2025, Besler filed suit against Mayor Holmes, claiming that he had defamed him at council meetings, in the media and through correspondence on emails through his district and personal accounts.

Besler said that in 2021 and 2022, Summerland council and district staff negatively talked about him through email, which he obtained through FOI requests.

Last March, Besler had limits placed on his Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act requests by B.C.'s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. The review had determined that over the span of three years, Besler submitted 79 Freedom of Information requests, with an additional 18 made by family members on his behalf.

Besler provided quotes from council meeting in his lawsuit, where Holmes told Besler he is insulting staff members and council every time he speaks during the public comment period with personal attacks.

Besler responded denying this, stating that in his opinion he is always respectful and that he felt council was trying to "shut me down from exposing important issues."

His suit adds further dates of council meetings where the mayor requested he be respectful and focus on the issues, rather than personal attacks on members.

Besler has direct lawsuits against district staff, and is ostensibly the cause for adopted decorum rules at public meetings in 2023.

The current lawsuit also references a time that Besler applied to be a delegation to council on behalf of an informal group of local residents that call themselves "Summerland Watchdogs," which he described as a group that "believes in holding local government accountable."

His request was initially denied by staff, but later voted through by Council to allow Besler to speak at an upcoming meeting.

In summer 2024, Summerland council voted to remove the open-concept public comment opportunity at the end of their meetings, instead focusing on comments on agenda items and scheduled delegations.

Besler provided comment at the time on the decision, stating it was a "bad faith" move by council in order to avoid public responsibility.

"Now council is going to the extreme length of removing public comment under the illusion that it will silence my voice, but you have no control over me outside of these council chambers. You know that, right?" Besler said at the time.

"I just want to make one thing crystal clear for the mayor, if public comment opportunity is removed, then I'm pledging here today that I will attend events you go to for the rest of your term as mayor, starting with the ceremony at the new pier and I'll interrupt your conversations like you've interrupted me in these council chambers.

"And I'll tell the people that you're talking to 'This is the mayor that removed public comment because his fragile little ego couldn't handle public accountability,' because if you remove the long standing practice of public comment for no other reason than to suppress the public's voice, then you don't deserve any respect at all. You are the problem."

Besler also claimed that Holmes provided false information regarding the public comment period decision during a CBC Radio interview.

He alleges that the mayor has shown a "willingness to mislead Summerland residents" regarding him and that people believe the comment period was removed because he was abusing it.

Besler claims he has suffered stress, anxiety, humiliation and loss of reputation due to these incidents and is therefore seeking punitive damages.

Castanet contacted Mayor Holmes for comment, who stated he had yet to be served with the lawsuit and would also not comment on the matter at the time as it is before the courts.

None of the allegations in the lawsuits have been proven in court, and all named parties have a right to respond with countersuits should they choose to do so.