Charges stayed, but Mountie accused of abusing girlfriend asked to resign

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This article was published 21/06/2023 (1077 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Manitoba RCMP member accused of abusing his girlfriend — including shooting her with a BB gun, lighting her hair on fire and berating her — was asked to resign from the force after the charges against him were stayed in court.

A decision report from the RCMP conduct board, published in January, found Const. Jason Kitzul was also accused of driving drunk, putting his girlfriend in a headlock and punching her.

He has denied the allegations.

RCMP spokesperson Tara Seel confirmed Wednesday Kitzul is no longer a Mountie, but could not say when his employment was terminated, or if he resigned on his own.

“We will not be speaking to any further specifics,” Seel said.

The conduct review stemmed from a series of incidents dating back to 2018, when he was stationed in Roblin, roughly 400 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

Kitzul, who was a 12-year veteran of the force, met the victim during a fishing trip in the summer of 2016. The pair was together until December 2018, when she filed a police report against him.

The following year, he was charged with assault, assault with a weapon and impaired driving. The Crown stayed all charges, but the RCMP initiated an internal review.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba was not involved in the review.

The conduct board found Kitzul showed “a stunning lack of appreciation” for his actions, displayed “a dismissive and cavalier attitude” and sought to downplay the accusations against him.

Kitzul testified his relationship with the victim included “consensual roughhousing behaviour.”

“They often wrestled with each other… frequently punched, slapped or pinched each other playfully,” the report said. “These behaviours took place in private, during gatherings of family and friends and, on occasion, public venues.”

At times, he would pin the victim to the ground and only release her if she said the words “Jason is the King.”

The victim testified Kitzul was once affectionate and “overly nice,” but roughly one year into their relationship, his behaviours became increasingly aggressive and demeaning.

She alleged he called her fat and stupid, saying she could not think for herself.

The review board investigated a total of seven allegations, calling multiple witnesses to testify. It ruled it was probable Kitzul committed five of the acts.

On one occasion, while a group of people were sitting in his backyard, he jumped up without warning and put the victim in a headlock, causing her to gasp for breath, choke and cough.

At a separate event, he wrestled her to the ground, put her arm behind her back and pinched her between the legs.

Kitzul said he did not recall specifics of these events, but acknowledged it was common for them to wrestle during gatherings.

On several occasions, he shot the victim with a BB gun, or smacked her on the buttocks and legs with plastic objects while playing darts in the basement of his home.

Kitzul testified the gun was “a game” between him and the victim. The board disagreed.

Another time, he set fire to her hair while lighting a cigarette.

Kitzul said this was an accident, but the board ruled there was “absolutely no excuse for this to have happened,” calling the act “a wanton or reckless disregard” for her safety.

On March 29, 2018, the couple spent the day ice-fishing near Lake of the Prairies. The victim alleged Kitzul drank excessively throughout the day and punched her in the head without warning.

When it was time to leave, she sent text messages to her parents saying he was “driving all over the road,” calling it “erratic and scary.”

The conduct board corroborated these allegations with phone records. Kitzul said he did not recall striking the woman, nor any other specifics about the day.

“Although criminal charges against Constable Kitzul were stayed, his conduct in all five established allegations was criminal in nature; therefore, it is serious,” the board ruled.

The report stated the RCMP previously reprimanded Kitzul for two separate incidents.

In 2012, after an argument with his former common-law partner, she fell on the ice and he picked her up by grabbing the collar of her jacket. Their two children witnessed the event.

The RCMP reprimanded him for the behaviour by forcing him to forfeit one holiday day.

In 2016, Kitzul failed to open a file on a domestic violence case. He was fined two days pay and forced to take an online domestic violence course.

“Constable Kitzul’s apparent failure to learn from these two prior conduct matters does not bode well for Constable Kitzul’s rehabilitation prospects as does (his) failure to demonstrate any remorse,” the report said.

The board recommended Kitzul resign from the force within 14 days of the ruling, or be dismissed.

He argued he should qualify for a medical discharge, owing to a pre-existing shoulder injury incurred at work.

The board denied the claim, which could have allowed Kitzul to collect his RCMP pension.

A search of court records shows protection orders were filed against Kitzul in 2012 and again in 2021. The former was dismissed, but the latter was approved.

— with files from Dean Pritchard

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Conduct board decision: Const. Jason Kitzul