BANFF – A lengthy Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) investigation has led to charges against an off-duty Banff RCMP officer for breaking into a hotel room occupied by two women he had been socializing with one evening.
The charges against Const. Garret Claxton stem back to a reported break and enter that occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 23, 2022. The next day ASIRT was directed to investigate the officer from the Banff detachment.
“The incident occurred at a hotel room occupied by two adult females with whom the officer had socialized with earlier that evening,” states an ASIRT press release, which did not state at which hotel this happened.
Last Wednesday (Sept. 4), Claxton was charged with break and enter. He was released on an appearance notice and is scheduled for first appearance in the Alberta Court of Justice in Canmore on Sept. 25. Claxton’s employment status is not known at this point.
According to the ASIRT press release, the evidence gathered during ASIRT’s investigation provided “reasonable grounds to believe that an offence had been committed.”
As required by the Police Act, the investigation was forwarded to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether the evidence met the standard for prosecution.
According to the media release, ASIRT executive director Michael Ewenson determined Claxton should be charged following a review of the investigation, and having been advised that Crown prosecutors believed the evidence did meet their standards for protection.
“As this matter is now before the courts, no further information will be released, states ASIRT’s release.
ASIRT, the province’s police watchdog, is mandated to investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that have resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
