Edmonton RCMP officer dismissed after conduct hearing on sexual assault complaint

An Alberta Mountie has been removed from the force after a disciplinary review substantiated a sexual assault complaint against him.

RCMP conduct board member Colin Miller concluded that former Cpl. Kire Kondoski committed discreditable conduct, and in a November 2024 decision, ordered his immediate dismissal. The former officer previously worked in Edmonton's major crimes unit.

Kondoski's conduct hearing ran for several days in Edmonton last summer before concluding in Ottawa.

Miller said in his written decision that letting Kondoski keep his job would "erode the public trust" in the RCMP.

"The allegation in this matter is very serious. Cpl. Kondoski engaged in conduct that is one of the most grievous acts that can be committed, as acknowledged by both him and [his lawyer]," Miller wrote.

"Sexual violence is an issue that plagues our society and one that the RCMP is making serious efforts to eliminate from its midst. As such, its occurrence by RCMP members must be denounced in no uncertain terms."

Quasi-judicial proceedings like RCMP conduct hearings make determinations based on a balance of probabilities — essentially, whether it's more likely than not that the allegations happened — rather than the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt required for a criminal conviction.

Kondoski was charged with sexual assault in 2021 after the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team investigated an alleged off-duty assault in 2018. But the Crown withdrew the criminal case a few months later.

The woman who reported the assault met the former officer at work while she was a civilian employee with the RCMP, and the two subsequently began an intimate relationship. Her identity is protected by a publication ban.

She told ASIRT investigators, and testified at the conduct hearing, that she and Kondoski started the relationship in 2018. He was married to someone else, which the woman said made her feel increasingly guilty and uncomfortable.

She said she told Kondoski that she wanted to end the relationship after he came to her apartment one night, and he pushed her down, put his hand on her throat, and sexually assaulted her.

In Kondoski's testimony at the conduct hearing, he denied that the incident happened as she described, and said that he never sexually assaulted her.

Miller determined that the woman gave a credible account of the assault and the events leading up to it, and in his decision, found the allegations against Kondoski were established.

"Over the past several decades, the RCMP has been embattled by reports of sexual harassment and assaults. This has garnered significant media attention and created a lack of trust both inside the RCMP and in society in general," Miller wrote.

"Consequently, the reputation of the RCMP has been tarnished. To rebuild this trust, the RCMP must demonstrate that it is holding its members accountable when they contravene the code of conduct."

An RCMP spokesperson said in a statement that Kondoski was dismissed as a result of the conduct decision. He had been suspended with pay since January 2021.