A Manitoba man working as community safety officer has been arrested after RCMP received reports of a slew of criminal harassment incidents earlier this month.
Selkirk RCMP say they received the report of several incidents of criminal harassment on the afternoon of July 7, with the most recent having happened in Grand Beach Provincial Park just before the report was filed.
A female employee working at the provincial park was approached by a man, who attempted to start a conversation with her. During that, he disclosed some information about her that he should not have known, RCMP said in a news release Tuesday.
Several other similar incidents were reported to have occurred within a short period of time, according to RCMP.
After their investigation, police identified a 31-year-old man from Grand Marais as a suspect.
The man was employed as a community safety officer in a nearby community, police said. Under provincial legislation, community safety officers are authorized to work in collaboration with local police, through things like implementing crime prevention strategies and initiatives, connecting social service providers with people in need, and maintaining a visible presence within the community.
On July 8, officers went to the man’s home and arrested him for criminal harassment. Inside his home, officers located and seized uniform pants, law enforcement shirts, a duty belt, handcuffs, a baton and pepper spray.
He was later released from police custody on numerous conditions, with a court appearance scheduled for November.
On July 10, RCMP got reports the man was in possession of a firearm with a tampered serial number. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he turned himself in at the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters on July 11.
The 31-year-old is scheduled to appear at a Winnipeg court on Aug. 14.