A Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer will have to appear at the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu courthouse on July 20 on charges of breach of trust and obstruction.
Aaron Baringue, 36, of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, was arrested after turning himself in to his supervisor on Sept. 26, 2024, the day after a member of his family illegally crossed the Canada-US border.
Baringue had been working as a patrol officer with the Champlain Border Patrol since 2019. As such, he knew the locations where his family member could cross undetected, explains Constable Marie-Pierre Guertin. “He allegedly travelled to the United States in his personal vehicle while off duty to pick up a family member who had been refused entry to Canada. He then drove this family member to an unguarded route at the border, through which the person would then have illegally entered Canada. A few hours later, he returned to Canada, leaving the person there.”
Detected by the Americans
However, on the American side, the US Customs and Border Patrol had detected the illegal crossing and reported it to the RCMP. “The patrol officers then conducted searches for several hours, but without success,” said Constable Guertin.
The RCMP did not provide details about the family member in question, except to say that it is a distant relative, whose case is now in the hands of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
The case was handled by the RCMP’s Special Investigations Unit, and the spokesperson maintains that the file was treated like any other, despite Aaron Baringue’s status as an RCMP officer. He has been suspended from his duties since the events.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
