BEHCHOKO/RAE-EDZO
A Behchoko RCMP officer is being investigated for entering a home in Behchoko in the early hours of April 22 and intimidating those inside while off duty, according to police.

RCMP are investigating an officer accused of entering a Behchoko elder's house at 4 a.m. April 22 and intimidating her. - NNSL file photo

"The G Division RCMP Major Crimes Unit are investigating after a serious allegation was brought forward against a member of the Behchoko RCMP," a news release dated April 27 stated.

Alice J. Mantla said the home the officer entered belonged to her son, where she and four of her grandchildren were sleeping. She said she was terrified when she woke up to a man shouting and swearing at her in the living room.

"It was four-o-clock in the morning when I woke up with a flashlight in my face," she said. "He just started swearing."

Mantla had been sleeping on the couch when she said a man walked in the front door and demanded she silence her son's dog, which was chained and barking outside the home.

She said the man asked if she was drunk and used obscenities while yelling at her.

When he left, Mantla said she called the RCMP.

"I waited for a while because I got scared, then I called the RCMP," she said, adding she didn't realize the man was an off-duty officer.

"I didn't know that guy was a cop," she said. "I got scared, all my grandkids were sleeping."

Mantla said she had been exhausted after returning to Behchoko from Yellowknife where her daughter had just had a baby. She fell asleep at about 8 p.m. and didn't lock the front door because her 16-year-old grandson wasn't yet home.

Mantla said she is a member of the Canadian Rangers and has been helping with search and rescue operations for the past 15 years.

"Here I thought I was tough but to wake up with a light in your face, it changed my life," she said. "I'm terrified."

Mantla said she is still having trouble sleeping.

"Since that night, I haven't been myself," she said.

She said she was scheduled to meet with staff with the RCMP Victim Services Program by the end of last week.

If the man had complaints about the dog's barking, he could have knocked on the door and spoken to her or called the RCMP, she said.

"With or without uniform, they shouldn't barge in," she said.

The officer has been placed on administrative duties until the investigation is finished, a news release from the RCMP stated.

An external police agency will then review the investigation.