Vernon North Okanagan RCMP officer Shaun Miranda appears in this 2021 photo.

Image Credit: Vernon North Okanagan RCMP

An RCMP Conduct Board has found that Vernon Mountie Const. Shaun Miranda forced an unwanted kiss on a drunken colleague at a staff Christmas party.

The conduct board said Const. Miranda's version of what happened at the party was "problematic," and some of his evidence was "fully illogical."

The verdict comes following three days of testimony from numerous RCMP officers who attended the Christmas party in 2023.

The board found that at the party, Const. Miranda had put his hands on the victim's shoulders, kissed her on the lips and put his tongue in her mouth.

The board described it as a "sexual assault."

A woman who appeared to be Const. Miranda's wife wiped tears from her eyes as she sat behind him at the hearing.

About 20 people attended the Christmas party, and the victim had gotten very drunk, putting herself at a seven out of 10 scale of intoxication.

However, although she was highly intoxicated, she had "no doubt" about what had happened.

The conduct board ruled she gave a clear account of what happened, and was a credible and reliable witness regardless of how much she'd had to drink.

However, it took issue with much of Const. Miranda's evidence.

The events all took place at a Christmas party at the home of two married RCMP officers.

Throughout the hearing, the officers testified about the relationship they had with each other and the strong bond they had in and out of work. Many officers were good friends, and several were married to other RCMP officers. Const. Miranda was a good friend of the victim's fiancé, who is an RCMP officer.

The complaint clearly sent shock waves through the Vernon detachment.

She testified she didn't want to make a formal complaint to avoid any trouble at work.

Throughout the night at the party, Const. Miranda spent time behind the bar in the basement entertainment room, making officers' drinks.

He only had a few drinks himself and acted as a designated driver, giving multiple officers a ride home.

In his version of events, the victim and her partner had been bickering throughout the evening, and Const. Miranda wanted to see if she was OK.

As he went to the bathroom she came out. He said he wanted to talk to her and she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. He reciprocated and kissed her cheek. He also mentioned he wanted to talk about her upcoming wedding.

However, the conduct board said it wasn't reasonable to have wanted to have such a conversation with the victim when she was so drunk.

The board also pointed out that no other witnesses had noticed the victim and her fiancé bickering that night and Const. Miranda didn't call any witnesses to corroborate his story.

The conduct board also took issue with comments the Mountie said two weeks after the party when he was confronted by the victim's fiancé.

During the conversation, Const. Miranda said the victim was "handing it out."

The comment was not compatible with his version of events, the board ruled.

The board also ruled that a comment Const. Miranda made about getting a blow job for giving a colleague a ride home was "absolutely inappropriate."

Ultimately, the conduct board found he had behaved in a manner that had discredited the RCMP. 

Const. Miranda will now have to fight to keep his job, as the conduct authority's lawyer said they will be asking for him to be dismissed.

Whether Const. Miranda loses his job or not will be decided at a later date.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2025