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An off-duty BC Mountie, who pointed a handgun at two civilians while drunk behind the wheel of his Ford F-350, has lost his job.

RCMP Const. Olavo Castro had only been an RCMP officer for four years and already had a black mark against his name when he drank seven beers and headed to the Williams Lake Stampede on July 1, 2022.

He told the two men, "This is my town, do we have a problem?" as he pointed his gun at them.

The incident resulted in the officer facing two criminal charges and a hearing before the RCMP Code of Conduct Board.

According to a recently published July 22 RCMP Conduct Board decision, Const. Castro had instigated this incident and was unable to provide reasonable explanations for what he had done.

The decision said the two civilians were walking back to their motel late at night from the Williams Lake Stampede when Const. Castro drove very close to them.

One of the men lifted his hand in a gesture to say "what the heck" and a heated discussion ensued through the truck's window.

The Mountie then removed the handgun from the pouch on his hoodie and flashed it at the men.

The incident quickly died down and the RCMP officer drove off.

The two men reported what happened to the police at the stampede grounds and Const. Castro was pulled over an hour later and breathalyzed. He had an open beer in the truck's centre console and failed the test.

Police later found the handgun while searching the truck.

At the hearing, the constable argued that he moved the gun from its holster, placed it on his right thigh, and it was pointing to his feet. He said he did it because of the man's "aggressive gesture" in raising his hands.

The Conduct Board didn't buy it.

"The important fact is that the (RCMP officer) accosted two civilians with a firearm for no apparent reason," the Conduct Board said in the decision.

The officer admitted he'd drunk seven beers before getting in his truck and driving to the stampede, but argued he should be fined a month's pay, give up 15 days of vacation, along with other conditions.

The decision said Const. Castro was 41 years old when the incident happened, and after working as a court sheriff, became an RCMP officer in 2018. He was divorced with two children.

Following the incident, the Mountie was charged with unauthorized possession of a restricted weapon in a motor vehicle but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of having a restricted firearm in an unauthorized place. He was given a suspended sentence and 20 hours of community service.

As he was a police officer, the judge didn't prohibit him from possessing weapons, which is normally the case.

The decision said months before the incident, the Mountie was diagnosed with PTSD, alcohol-use disorder, cannabis-use disorder and persistent depressive disorder. 

The Mountie said he'd "hit rock bottom at this point in his life" when it happened.

However, the Conduct Board said his medical conditions did not absolve his actions.

"I appreciate that irrational decision-making and hypervigilance accompany PTSD," the Board said. "I find his lack of forethought, despite his medical and personal situations, for the impact of his actions to be unacceptable."

The Board said that police officers whose well-being is affected by stressful and traumatic events need a compassionate approach. However, the public interest in maintaining public confidence in the RCMP outweighs the public interest in supporting a compassionate approach to Const. Castro.

The decision didn't say what, but the Mountie had previously had a code of conduct matter and the Board said he appeared to have gained little insight into his responsibilities.

"I also find that I must seriously denounce the (RCMP officer's) conduct to ensure that other RCMP members may give serious consideration to their actions, both on and off duty, particularly when those actions involve serious misconduct that is criminal or criminal in nature," the Board said.

Ultimately, Const. Castro was given two weeks to resign or he would be fired.

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