A Supreme Court justice has found an RCMP officer guilty of careless use of a firearm and pointing a firearm following an incident at an informal get-together on Bell Island in January of 2018.

Michael Wheeler was off-duty at the time and was still in his uniform with a loaded firearm in the holster when he dropped in on a friend, a fellow RCMP officer.

Wheeler, his friend and his friend’s girlfriend were drinking at the time, and when his friend left the room, the woman and Wheeler began play wrestling.

At one point, the woman testified, Wheeler held his firearm against her face and then stood and pointed it at her, when his friend entered the room and intervened.

Both Wheeler and his friend denied in court that the events occurred, but Justice Sandra Chaytor did not believe their testimony.

She found the accused guilty on both counts.