Community safety officer fired after arrest for harassment, illegal gun

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/07/2024 (739 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A community safety officer has been fired after he allegedly harassed and stalked a Grand Beach Provincial Park employee while he was off-duty.

Matthew Madill, 31, of Grand Marais, will be charged with criminal harassment. He was released on an undertaking and is subject to certain conditions.

RCMP were contacted on July 7 about several incidents involving the same woman, with the most recent having occurred in the park. Officers were told a man had tried to strike up a conversation with the employee. It’s alleged the man did the same thing in different situations over several days.

“She just got those crazy vibes, right away, like, ‘Something’s not right here,’” RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre said. “She didn’t actually see him following her, but the timing of everything — he was always there at the right time.”

The park employee, who was living at a campsite in the area, told RCMP the man would show up at locations within minutes of her arrival and try to speak with her.

“For a couple of days, it didn’t stop,” Manaigre said. “The behaviour was concerning… it’s your textbook stalking.”

The spokesman said the man seemingly knew a lot about the victim, who had never met him. Police are uncertain about how her personal information was gained or how he knew her whereabouts.

RCMP said Madill, who was arrested July 8, was employed as a community safety officer in a nearby community.

The Free Press has confirmed he worked for Brokenhead Ojibway Nation but has since been fired. The chief did not return a message Tuesday.

Madill is scheduled to face the eventual harassment charge in Selkirk court in November.

Officers seized uniform pants, law-enforcement shirts, a duty belt, handcuffs, a baton and pepper spray from his home.

Manaigre said the accused was off-duty at the time of the incidents but tried to show the woman his safety officer equipment in his car.

RCMP were told on July 10 that Madill might be in possession of a firearm with a tampered serial number.

Mounties obtained an arrest warrant and later found the gun. Madill turned himself in at Winnipeg Police Service headquarters on July 11, RCMP said.

He is scheduled to appear in court in Winnipeg on the firearms charge on Aug. 14.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca