The Prince Albert Police Service has taken a serving RCMP member into custody in connection to a homicide investigation. Late Wednesday the member was identified as 52-year-old Bernie Herman.
Herman has been charged with with First Murder.
Also identified was victim 26-year-old Braden Herman and an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday in Saskatoon.
In a press release Wednesday, the police service said the victim and the officer are known to each other, police said.
Officers say they were called to a wooded area within the city Tuesday evening for a report of a deceased man. The arrested RCMP officer was not on duty at the time of the incident.
Later Wednesday the RCMP released a statement to the Daily Herald regarding the charges.
“The officer is a corporal with 32 years’ service and was serving with the Prince Albert RCMP Traffic Services Unit when the arrest occurred,” the statement said.
“The RCMP has processes in place to handle conduct issues, including those as serious as the arrest announced today.”
“Public trust is essential for the RCMP to effectively serve and protect Canadians. As a result, RCMP employees must conduct themselves in a manner that not only meets, but exceeds, the rightfully high expectations of Canadians. The RCMP Code of Conduct is a group of rules used to ensure that RCMP police officers are responsible and accountable for the promotion and maintenance of good conduct in the Force. Contraventions to the RCMP Code of Conduct are taken seriously and a modification to the member’s duty status is currently being processed,” it concluded
The police have requested the appointment of an independent observer to oversee this investigation, which is being led by the Prince Albert Police Service Criminal Investigations Division.
The police said that their investigation is ongoing and the Criminal Investigative Division (CID) of the service is investigating. in addition to a wooded area in the city, police have secured a vehicle and a residence in the 3,300 block of Dent Crescent as part of the investigation.
The accused is scheduled to appear in Provincial Court tomorrow at 10 a.m.””
