B.C. RCMP sergeant ordered to resign after 2nd impaired driving incident

A breathalyzer device is seen in a CTV News file image.

The RCMP’s Conduct Board has ordered a sergeant from B.C.’s Okanagan to resign after he was caught impaired driving for a second time while off duty.

The latest incident happened three years ago in Prince George, where Quinton Mackie of the Kelowna RCMP detachment was stopped at a highway patrol checkpoint.

The board heard he had “bloodshot” eyes and an “odour of liquor” on his breath at the time of the 2023 stop, and that he failed two roadside breathalyzer tests.

Board member Sara Novell found it was in the public interest for the sergeant to either resign or be fired, in part because he’d previously been caught drinking and driving in a similar incident in 2017.

“Driving while impaired is wholly incompatible with the conduct expected of police officers,” Novell noted in her December 2025 decision, which was recently posted online.

“As such, significant conduct measures are required.”

The highway patrol officer opted to give the sergeant an immediate 90-day driving prohibition under B.C.’s Motor Vehicle Act rather than pursue criminal charges, but Novell noted the Conduct Board can still assess an RCMP member’s behaviour as “potentially equivalent to criminal” in determining an appropriate punishment.

“Impaired driving poses a known and substantial risk to human life and public safety,” she added. “The conduct is not merely unlawful, but also recklessly endangers others.”

She credited Mackie for accepting responsibility for his conduct, however, beginning on the night of his traffic stop and continuing through the RCMP’s disciplinary process.

Novell also acknowledged intergenerational trauma and substance abuse in the family of the sergeant, who is Metis, and the fact that the highway patrol officer who stopped him assessed his symptoms to be on the lower end of impairment, despite his breathalyzer readings.

A representative for Mackie also noted the sergeant made no attempt to abuse his authority while interacting with the officer, though Novell did not consider that a mitigating factor.

“I attribute no weight to the fact that Sgt. Mackie did not ask for leniency nor do anything to abuse his authority,” she added. “Such actions would be aggravating, but their absence is certainly not mitigating.”

Mackie’s rank and the fact that he worked in the RCMP’s Professional Standards Unit demand that he be held to a higher standard of responsibility, Novell found while ordering that he resign within 14 days of the decision or be fired.

“The failure of prior discipline to correct Sgt. Mackie’s behaviour, the repeat nature of the misconduct and the absence of significant mitigating factors—such as expert evidence of a medical or psychological condition linked to his actions or, more importantly, demonstrable rehabilitation—collectively justify the imposition of the most serious disciplinary outcome,” her decision reads.

It’s unclear whether Mackie ultimately resigned. A Kelowna RCMP spokesperson directed questions to the RCMP’s “E” Division headquarters, which did not immediately respond to a request for information from CTV News on Monday.

This story will be updated if a response is received.