An RCMP Officer with the BC Highway Patrol, formerly posted to the Williams Lake Detachment, has been forced to resign from the RCMP following the conclusion of an RCMP conduct review stemming from an incident that took place during the 2022 Williams Lake Stampede.
During an RCMP conduct review this past July, it was found that former RCMP Constable Olavo Castro had acted with discreditable conduct when he pointed a firearm at two members of the public from a vehicle during an argument he initiated near the stampede grounds in 2022. He was off-duty at the time of the incident.
That incident was quickly reported to a near-by RCMP officer involved in a traffic stop and Castro was later located at the stampede grounds behind the wheel of his truck by officers investigating the incident. The responding officers had noted Castro’s watery eyes, a strong smell of alcohol on his breath and an open beer can inside the truck. At the time, Castro had failed a breathalyzer test, receiving a 90-day driving prohibition, with his truck impounded for 30 days.
Following the conduct review’s conclusion on July 22nd this year, Castro had been ordered to resign from the RCMP within 14 days of the hearings conclusion, with the ruling adding that he would be fired from the force if he did not.
The verdict was only released to the public last week, and the documents outlined Castro’s ongoing struggles with mental health, alcohol and cannabis at the time of the incident. According to those same documents, a search warrant executed on Castro’s truck turned up a loaded Smith & Wesson M&P handgun with a round loaded in the chamber.
In November of 2023, Castro had plead guilty to firearms charges receiving a suspended sentence and fines.
