A photo taken of Bernie Herman in Aug. 2020. He would resign 10 months later. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Crime

‘I just shot and killed him’: Former P.A cop’s alleged confession examined during court hearing

Sep 26, 2023 | 7:25 PM

The final text messages exchanged between a man and his wife, and whether police were justified seizing cell phones without a warrant, are among the talking points this week during a special hearing at Court of King’s Bench in Prince Albert.

The hearing precedes Bernie Herman’s trial which is scheduled for Dec. 4 and will determine if certain pieces of evidence can be admissable in court including Herman’s alleged confession.

In May, 2021, 26-year-old Braden Herman was found deceased in a wooded area south of Prince Albert’s Little Red River Park. Bernie Herman was arrested the same day and has been charged with first degree murder.

The two men are not related but family members have previously compared the relationship to one between a father and son prior to a falling out.

Braden Herman. (Facebook)

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According to information provided earlier by police, Herman had admitted to shooting someone and also provided information on where officers could locate the victim.

While Herman was not on duty at the time of the incident, Prince Albert Police Service Insp. Craig Mushka told reporters he left work in full uniform with his duty belt on the day it occurred.

In addition to the alleged confession, a number of charter issues are being raised this week with respect to the seizure of evidence.

A total of five phones were taken by police, and at least three without warrants. Two were taken from Bernie’s truck and the other from his wife after she provided a statement to police. Sgt. Darren Androsoff explained the reason that was done was out of concern data may get lost, erased or damaged.

There was also an acknowledgement by Sgt. Androsoff that not all the proper forms were filled out for the Ministry of Justice with respect to what total evidence had been seized.

“I don’t have any excuse or justified answer for that,” he said. “It simply wasn’t done.”

The phones were eventually sent away to be examined by a forensics team in Calgary and the final report was over 36 pages long. Androsoff also noted that through the course of their investigation, they studied thousands of pages of content.

A special monument has been set up where Braden Herman’s body was found. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

Text messages found on the wife’s phone suggested that in addition to some marital problems, there was also a possible sexual relationship occurring between the accused and the victim.

In one of the final text messages she received from Bernie, he stated Braden had gone too far and he had had enough.

“I just shot and killed him and I won’t be around for it,” he texted, telling his wife he loved her.

Also heard on Tuesday, on the day of the offence Bernie Herman had made 43 calls to Braden, using the phone that had been provided to him through work.

There was also a separate call made to a friend and colleague that lasted over 16 minutes.

Herman, who was a 32-year member of the RCMP when he was arrested, resigned in June, 2021 and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The evidentiary portion of the Voir-Dire hearing is expected to wrap up on Wednesday, and will be followed by a separate hearing on Oct. 10 that will provide lawyers the opportunity to present arguments.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell