Police watchdog clears off-duty Mountie who handcuffed teen after prank

An off-duty RCMP officer “displayed questionable judgment” but will not face charges for chasing down a group of teenagers who pranked his home last fall, handcuffing and traumatizing a 13-year-old girl.

“Despite the fact that (the officer’s) actions displayed questionable judgment and seem to be extreme, considering the entirety of the evidence, I am not in a position to say that his actions are criminal,” Bruce Sychuk, acting civilian director of the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, wrote in his final report on the incident, released Monday.

“What is clear is that (the girl) continues to suffer trauma from the incident.”

911 call summons police

Manitoba’s police watchdog was tapped to review the Oct. 19, 2025, incident after the unnamed officer was arrested by members of the Brandon Police Service, who responded to a 911 call at a home in the western Manitoba city.

The girl’s mother phoned police when the man showed up to her door that evening with her handcuffed and crying daughter in tow. He identified himself as a police officer, but did not have his badge with him when the mother asked to see it.

The report notes multiple witnesses saw the officer wearing a ballistic police vest, gun and duty belt, over top of khaki shorts and a T-shirt.

Several BPS officers were sent to the home, with some telling IIU investigators they initially believed it could be a kidnapping or abduction call.

One officer said he drew his rifle and pointed it at the off-duty officer upon arriving.

“This was definitely unusual.”

“(The witness officer) thought this might have been an off-duty arrest by an officer, but this was definitely unusual. (He) used caution attending the scene because the call suggested the male had a police vest, which could also mean he could possess weapons,” the report said.

The BPS officer said the off-duty officer’s demeanour appeared to be “quite nonchalant considering the seriousness of the situation.”

Some of the officers interviewed said they recognized the man as a former member of the BPS, who was now working for RCMP.

Girl with youth ringing doorbells

After the officer was detained, a BPS officer went into the home and found the 13-year-old girl “extremely distraught, fearful and crying with mascara running down her face.” At that time, she was still handcuffed with her hands behind her back, the report says.

IIU investigators spoke with the girl, who said she planned to have a sleepover with a friend on the night of the incident. They met with some other youth who decided to play “ding dong ditch.”

The prank involves knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell of a home and then running away before the homeowner can answer.

The teen said she was not participating in the prank, but was walking with a group of boys who were.

Having already knocked on the door of the off-duty officer once, the boys returned to the home and pranked it again before fleeing, the report says.

Officer whose doorbell rung ‘feared for his life’

The officer did not speak with IIU investigators, but provided a statement through his lawyer. He said he “feared for his life and the lives of his family” after hearing the knocks on the door.

The off-duty officer and his brother saw three people running away from the home and decided to pursue them in a vehicle.

A youth interviewed by the IIU said the group was walking down the street when they saw a “vehicle speed towards the group in the wrong lane and slam on its brakes as they neared.”

The group fled, but the 13-year-old girl stayed behind, the report says.

In his statement, the officer said he approached the girl with his Taser drawn but did not point it at her. He holstered the weapon when it became clear she was unarmed and then he handcuffed her.

He grabbed her by the arm and walked her approximately four blocks back to her home while his brother followed in the car.

The girl and one of the other youth told investigators the off-duty officer’s brother was carrying a long black rifle when he stepped out of the vehicle; other witnesses did not substantiate this.

Police detained the officer and his brother pending a forcible confinement investigation. Both men were later released without charges, the IIU report says.

“This was not a targeted home invasion of a police officer. This was a case of a bunch of young teenagers playing ding dong ditch.”

In his statement, the officer said he had seen news coverage about police officers being targeted by criminals, and felt it was possible his family was at risk of a home invasion.

Crime statistics collected by the IIU during the investigation showed there were no incidents of break and enters, theft or mischief reported in the neighbourhood for at least one year before the incident.

The BPS said there was one incident in 2024 of an officer being harassed, the report notes.

“What is clear based on the evidence is that this was not a targeted home invasion of a police officer. This was a case of a bunch of young teenagers playing ding dong ditch,” Sychuk wrote in his conclusion.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca