An RCMP officer from Alberta who was supposed to come to Port Alberni as the new detachment commander last year has been charged with fraud and breach of trust.
RCMP Sgt. Jim Martin was appointed in February 2012 as Port Alberni’s new inspector and it was announced he was to join the detachment in April or May. His appointment quietly went away in March, and all the local RCMP would say is that plans had changed.
Alberta news agencies reported on Tuesday that Martin, of Spruce Grove, Alta., has been charged with two counts of fraud and two counts of breach of trust. He is accused of using RCMP credit cards to buy items totalling about $1,000 for personal use.
Martin was the acting detachment commander in Mayerthorpe, Alta., on March 3, 2005 when four RCMP officers were shot to death at a farm by gunman James Roszko, who later killed himself.
Martin has been suspended with pay pending investigation.
editor@albernivalleynews.com
—With files from Wawmeesh G. Hamilton