Kootenay cop keeps job after having sex with accused's ex-wife

A Kootenay Mountie who slept with a woman he met after being called to deal with her drunk-driving ex-husband has been fined three weeks pay but managed to hang onto his job. According to a recently published Sept. 16 RCMP Conduct Board decision, Trail RCMP Const. Steven Murchie was found to have discredited the force by using police databases to look up ex-partners and family members over a six-year period. However, the Conduct Board found that the "spontaneous consensual sexual intercourse," which only happened once, wasn't discreditable conduct. The story dates back to 2018, when Const. Murchie met the ex-wife of someone he'd investigated for drunk driving. The drunk driver was a veteran with severe PTSD and alcoholism who was suicidal. Const. Murchie had helped her get the man help and visited her several times leaving flowers on her windshield and his cell number on the back of his business card. On one occasion, while he was off duty at at her house, the two had consensual sex. The Mountie was later criminally charged with Breach of Trust but acquitted in 2022. The decision said the officer had met the woman a year before he investigated her ex-husband's drunk driving incident, as they both had children at an overnight Girl Guide event. After they slept together a year or so later, they continued to be friends and their personal relationship revolved around their children. "Although the relationship began while Const. Murchie was in a position of authority and trust, most of the relationship occurred while that position of authority and trust no longer existed," the Board said in the decision. The decision said the RCMP officer is divorced and has five children. The Conduct Board said the he displayed "exceptionally poor decision-making" but it didn't go as far as being misconduct. "The lone sexual act, although regretted by both, was consensual and unplanned. (The woman) deeply regrets having the relationship with Const. Murchie, but not because he was a police officer or anything he did in that capacity. She still thinks he is a good father, a good police officer and a good person. He was simply not the right person for her. The dynamics of their relationship was not for her," the Board said. However, the officer was still found to have breached the RCMP code of conduct over the use of police databases. He used them to look up his ex-wife, family members and a woman he had a brief relationship with. "Const. Murchie’s conduct runs contrary to the exemplary image and integrity required to perform the duties of a police officer. He abused his power and privilege as a police officer. His actions seriously tarnished the RCMP’s image and contributed to the loss of public confidence and respect for the RCMP and police in general," the Board said. However, the Board said he was getting the opportunity to continue his career. He was fined 120 hours' pay and will be ineligible for promotion for three years. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca  or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  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 https://infotel.ca/newsletter .