Kent Driscoll
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 28/05) - An Iqaluit RCMP officer has been charged with three counts of assault and one count of careless use of a firearm.

Const. Michael Salomonie, 28, originally of Cape Dorset, has been suspended pending the outcome of an internal investigation and a Dec. 5 court appearance.

Charges stem from incidents that occurred between October 2004 and September 2005. None of the offenses Salomonie is being charged with occurred while Salomonie, who has been an RCMP officer since January 2003, was on duty, police said.

O(The independent investigation) parallels with the statutory investigation, to determine if there was a violation of the RCMP code of conduct,O explained Staff Sgt. Ed North of the Iqaluit RCMP.

Penalties for violating the RCMP code of conduct range from counselling to dismissal. That internal investigation is being carried out by a RCMP member from another unit.

The major crime unit of the Iqaluit RCMP handled the criminal investigation.