Sask. RCMP officer makes first court appearance on murder charge

With his face covered by a medical mask, and wearing a polo shirt and blue jeans, a Prince Albert RCMP officer stood with his arms behind his back Thursday and simply nodded his head when a judge asked if he understood the charge he was facing.

Bernie Herman, who turned 53 on Thursday, is facing a charge of first-degree murder in the death Tuesday evening of 26-year-old Braden Herman. Braden’s body was found in a wooded area within city limits.

Herman, who has acquired the services of Saskatoon lawyer Brad Mitchell, was remanded into custody and is scheduled to make his next court appearance May 26. He will appear at that time either by phone or by video from the correctional centre where he is being housed.

Family members seek answers

Braden’s older brother, Brett Herman, came to court Thursday and told paNOW he wanted to see the accused in person.

“He didn’t want to look me in the face so that says a lot about his character,” he said.

On Wednesday, police revealed the accused and the victim were not blood related, but friends and family close to the situation have described the relationship as close, comparable in some respects to one a father and son may share.

Bernie even referred to Braden as “my boy.” Expressing his personal grief over what happened, Brett said he has no idea what may have happened.

“(Braden was) a good guy, never had a bad thing to say about anybody and he’s going to leave a lot of people with a lot of unanswered questions,” Brett said.

When asked to reflect on his last conversation with his brother, Brett said Braden was kind of going through “a bad time.” In January 2015, Braden’s twin brother died from suicide and Braden never recovered, turning to drugs and alcohol as a way to cope.

“He kind of went down the wrong path, kind of hanging out with people that weren’t very motivational for him,” Brett said. “He was my brother and I will always love him and I will always remember him.”

Braden grew up at Clearwater River Dene Nation, and while Brett was unsure when exactly his brother moved to Prince Albert, he said Braden did attend high school in the city.

Herman’s status with the RCMP

While he was off duty at the time of the incident, Herman has 32 years of service with the RCMP and was serving with the Prince Albert RCMP Traffic Services Unit when the arrest occurred.

As of Thursday, the RCMP has not confirmed Herman’s current employment status, only explaining the RCMP considers public trust “essential” to the organization, and that it has processes in place to handle issues such as this case.

“RCMP employees must conduct themselves in a manner that not only meets, but exceeds, the rightfully high expectations of Canadians,” the statement said. “Contraventions to the RCMP Code of Conduct are taken seriously and a modification to the member’s duty status is currently being processed.”

By Nigel Maxwell, paNOW