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

Image Credit: Vernon North Okanagan RCMP

CONTENT ADVISORY

A Vernon Mountie who stuck his tongue down the throat of a drunken colleague while at a Christmas party has lost his job.

On Aug. 22, the RCMP Conduct Board ordered Vernon North Okanagan RCMP Const. Shaun Miranda to resign within two weeks or he would be fired.

"(Sexual assault) should be a never-occurrence, but it continues," the Conduct Board said. "The public expects officers to be held to a higher standard."

The Conduct Board previously found Const. Miranda had forcefully kissed his colleague during a Christmas party in 2023, an incident the Conduct Board called a "sexual assault."

Const. Miranda had hoped to keep his job, but the Conduct Board said there needed to be exceptional circumstances for that to happen.

The Conduct Board said that while the unwanted kiss was a single action, testimony from various RCMP officers showed Const. Miranda had "repeatedly" made inappropriate sexual comments in and out of work.

During the hearing, there was some indication of other allegations against the officer, but no formal allegations were put forward.

The hearing painted the picture of a close-knit group of colleagues at the Vernon RCMP detachment, many of whom socialized with each other outside of work. Many officers are married to each other, and Const. Miranda's wife is also an RCMP officer.

On the night of the incident, about 20 officers were at a Christmas party held in the home of two married officers.

Const. Miranda was sober throughout the night and spent much of the evening behind the bar, serving people drinks.

At some point during the evening, the complainant, who is a civilian working at the RCMP detachment, went to the bathroom. As she was coming out of the bathroom Const. Miranda was in front of her, and put his hands on her and put his tongue down her throat. She pushed him and went back to the party.

Const. Miranda claimed she'd hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, and he'd reciprocated, but the Conduct Board didn't buy it.

While the complainant was very drunk at the time, the Conduct Board ruled her testimony was credible and reliable.

In contrast, it found Const. Miranda's testimony to be "problematic" and sometimes "fully illogical."

The hearing heard how the victim didn't want to report the incident, as she'd just started working at the detachment. Her spouse is an RCMP officer and was once a good friend with Const. Miranda. He confronted him about it sometime after the party.

Word about what Const. Miranda had done had gotten around the Vernon detachment and clearly rocked the strong community of officers.

The Mountie had argued he should keep his job, citing his unblemished work record and a formal recognition for his work saving lives by using Naloxone.

However, the Conduct Board didn't buy it, saying the RCMP had been "beleaguered" by reports of sexual assault and it needed to rebuild trust.

Ultimately, the Mountie was given two weeks to resign or he would be fired.

NOTE TO READERS: To connect with a victim service program or violence against women program call VictimLink BC at 1-800-563-0808. VictimLink BC provides information and referrals to all victims, as well as immediate crisis response to victims of sexual and family violence.

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