News
Newfoundland and Labrador RCMP officer charged with careless use of a firearm

Mar. 5, 2024, St. John’s, Nfld. – Newfoundland and Labrador’s police watchdog agency has charged an RCMP officer with careless use of a firearm.

The province’s Serious Incident Response Team, known as SIRT-NL, said today the charge against Cst. Marc Payne stems from an incident on May 15, 2022, in Corner Brook, Nfld.

It says in a news release that Payne was off-duty at the time and nobody was hurt.

RCMP Cpl. Jolene Garland says Payne remains an active member of the force and his duty status is currently under review.

SIRT-NL investigates allegations and incidents involving police officers that are of significant public interest, including assault, sexual assault and domestic violence.

The charge against Payne comes after a tumultuous year for Mounties in the province.

RCMP Cst. Michael Wheeler was convicted in December of pointing his firearm at a woman while drinking at a friend’s house in 2018. He is set to be sentenced in April.

SIRT-NL charged RCMP Const. Jeffrey Cormier in November with assault after a video surfaced on social media showing an officer slamming a man’s head into a police cruiser after escorting him off an airplane at the Stephenville, Nfld., airport.

In May 2023, the agency charged retired Mountie Albert Charles Michelin with touching someone under 14 for a sexual purpose, sexual assault causing bodily harm and breach of trust. The alleged offences are said to have taken place between 1997 and 2001.

And in February 2023, it charged RCMP Const. Michael Hann with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, unauthorized use of a computer and breach of trust.