New Brunswick

Top N.B. Mountie accepts resignation from RCMP employee who admitted to domestic violence

At a public RCMP conduct hearing on Tuesday, Jason Daley admitted he pinned a woman he was dating to a bed and refused to leave her home after she told him she didn't want him there one night in 2020.

RCMP disciplined Jason Daley for similar behaviour in 2018 and 2019, conduct board heard

The New Brunswick RCMP's commanding officer has accepted the resignation of a civilian employee who admitted to domestic violence. (CBC)

The New Brunswick RCMP's commanding officer has accepted the resignation of a civilian employee who admitted to domestic violence.

At a public RCMP conduct hearing on Tuesday, Jason Daley admitted he pinned a woman he was dating to a bed and refused to leave her home after she told him she didn't want him there one night in 2020.

The RCMP had disciplined Daley for similar behaviour twice before, for incidents that happened in 2018 and 2019, according to evidence presented at the hearing. 

Daley isn't an RCMP officer. He did technical work for the Canadian Firearms Program in Miramichi, helping officers with their computers and other technology.

His resignation from his job is effective immediately.

"How I'm held up to a higher standard, that I'm always a civilian member and I should act accordingly, I know I didn't act accordingly," Daley told the conduct board on Tuesday.

"All three [incidents], I know I didn't act accordingly. The first two times, I read this, gone through it, I thought I put it into practice but obviously didn't because it happened again. But I also didn't have the tools and the knowledge I have now on how to handle those situations."

Daley told the conduct board he's been in counselling since the September 2020 incident.

"I hope that you do put those things into practice and that moving forward, you will be able to deal with things in a more appropriate manner," Supt. Colin Miller, an adjudicator representing the RCMP's conduct board, said on Wednesday.

Woman told Daley not to come to her home

The woman, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, texted Daley on Sept. 30, 2020, to say he wasn't welcome at her home anymore, according to evidence presented on Tuesday.

But Daley admitted he went to the woman's home anyway and began arguing with her and insulting her.

After the woman told him to leave or go downstairs, Daley went downstairs to the woman's bedroom. When she came to bed, they argued again and the woman yelled at him to leave several times.

The conduct board says the woman pushed and hit Daley to get him out of the bed, and he pinned her to the bed with one hand on her face, only letting go after she bit him. It left her with a sore hand and bruising on the left side of her chin.

Daley said he shouldn't have gone to the home that night and should have made better choices while there. The board did not hear any evidence from the woman.

Daley was charged with a single count of assault, but he told the conduct board it was resolved by signing a peace bond.

The RCMP's registrar would not confirm that Daley had been previously disciplined because it didn't prompt a conduct hearing, a public hearing reserved for the most serious discipline cases where dismissal is on the table.

But Staff Sgt. Jonathon Hart, representing the RCMP, told the conduct board on Tuesday that Daley had two previous disciplinary matters.

He described incidents where Daley spat at the woman and another time where he threatened to slit her throat and take his own life. It's not clear what kind of discipline Daley received for those incidents.

Some discipline cases are resolved through conduct meetings, which aren't open to the public.

The RCMP says CBC News would need to file an access to information request to verify whether Daley was the subject of a conduct meeting. That process could take months or years. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karissa Donkin is a journalist in CBC's Atlantic investigative unit. You can reach her at karissa.donkin@cbc.ca.