Nunavut RCMP officer faces two charges of assault with a weapon

The Nunavut RCMP said May 12 that Pond Inlet-based Sgt. Paul Marenchuk has been charged with two counts of assault with a weapon. (FILE PHOTO)

Nunavut RCMP has laid charges against one of its own.

The RCMP said May 12 that the force has charged Pond Inlet-based Sgt. Paul Marenchuk with two counts of assault with a weapon.

The charges are in connection to two incidents which are alleged to have taken place in August and September 2015.

But the RCMP statement said the force only learned of these alleged assaults through an internal review which involved two detainees from the Pond Inlet detachment.

The matter was then referred to an Alberta-based RCMP investigator.

The results of that investigation were later submitted to the Public Prosecution Services of Canada’s Yukon office, which determined that charges were warranted.

Sgt. Marenchuk, who has worked for the RCMP for the last 30 years, had been stationed in Pond Inlet since 2012.

The RCMP said he is currently suspended with pay.

Marenchuk is scheduled to appear in court in the Baffin community on July 19.

The RCMP said it has also launched an internal code of conduct investigation into the matter, which is ongoing.