A Banff RCMP officer won’t receive a criminal record after he pleaded guilty to mischief for entering a hotel room occupied by two women without their permission.
Garret Claxton, an RCMP constable, received an absolute discharge from Justice Sara Bagg on Wednesday at the Canmore Court of Justice.
“I’m extremely remorseful for waking them up, scaring them and however that impacted them,” Claxton said in court.
Bagg said the court had been reassured “it was an isolated incident,” and that Claxton had shown he had “turned a corner.”
Crown prosecutor Euan Gilmour said that one night in late October 2022 Claxton began talking to one of the women on the Tinder dating app. He later met up with both women at two Banff bars before all three went to the women’s hotel to use the hot tub and pool.
The night out ended at about 11:30 p.m., Gilmour said.
Claxton told the court he began drinking whisky when he got home and returned to the hotel at about 5 a.m. the next morning.
A night manager let Claxton into the room, waking the two women. Gilmour said Claxton was “quite intoxicated,” speaking incoherently, and eventually left the room.
Gilmour said Claxton didn’t have a “lawful reason to be in the hotel room.”
Claxton was charged with breaking and entering by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) in 2024. ASIRT is the province’s police watchdog and investigates incidents that involve police officers if a serious injury or death takes place, or if there are allegations of police misconduct.
A victim impact statement from one woman said she suffers from panic attacks, insomnia, anxiety and night terrors. It says she is now more cautious around people.
“I fear for my safety, my significant other and roommates. … I do not feel secure when I’m home alone at night,” the statement said.
Claxton was on medical leave at the time of the incident, his lawyer, Balfour Der, told the court.
A doctor’s assessment said Claxton was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Claxton said a pair of killings in Banff in 2022 led to him using alcohol to self-medicate.
After being charged, Claxton went to addiction treatment in Nanaimo, B.C., for two months in addition to completing Alcoholics Anonymous and Soberlink monitoring.
Der said Claxton has a support group and has become a mentor and speaker for people facing addiction.
Claxton is suspended from duty with pay. He’s facing a code of conduct hearing from the RCMP and said he hopes to return to a non-frontline policing role.
