A judge in St. John’s has determined that a former police officer provided false testimony to shield himself and a colleague during the trial of another Mountie over two years ago. Paul Durdle, 42, was convicted of perjury by Judge Mike Madden at provincial court in St. John’s, while a charge of obstruction was dropped at the beginning of his trial. The charges, brought forth by the province’s Serious Incident Response Team in 2024, were linked to Durdle’s defense testimony at the trial of Const. Michael Wheeler a year earlier. Wheeler was subsequently found guilty of careless use of a firearm and pointing a firearm at someone after he brandished his weapon at Durdle’s former girlfriend during a social gathering.
The court heard that the incident occurred in 2018 at Durdle’s residence on Bell Island, where Wheeler, who was off-duty and in uniform, threatened Durdle’s girlfriend with a gun. Durdle denied the incident during Wheeler’s trial, but the Crown argued that he deliberately lied on multiple occasions to protect Wheeler and himself. Madden ruled that Durdle was untruthful on three key points, including his denial of seeing Wheeler’s service weapon in his home.
Despite Durdle’s claim that he did not notice Wheeler’s gun in his house, Wheeler testified otherwise. Madden concluded that Durdle lied to shield Wheeler and himself. The defense contended that Durdle’s false statements were not intentional but rather a result of recalling memories from the past. Durdle, who is no longer part of the police force, is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing in March.