The union that represents a Cape Breton Regional Police officer charged with identity fraud is questioning whether excessive force was used during his arrest.

Joan Jessome, the president of the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, says the family awoke to a team of armed RCMP officers standing in their home.

“The family has been terrorized,” said Jessome. “He’s got three children under the age of 11. Him and his wife and kids were all in bed asleep when the police came with assault rifles, between eight and ten of them on his property and in his home.”

Mounties descended on the officer’s home Wednesday morning and arrested him for identity fraud.

Police have not officially released the officer’s name, but the union identified him as 39-year-old Wade Lavin, a 15-year veteran of the Cape Breton Regional Police.

Jessome says there should have been a better way to deal with the situation.

“They weren't looking for guns or drugs, there wasn't all that stuff,” she said. “Which people would think you would get that kind of reaction from the police. This was an arrest and there's been no charges laid yet, so we still feel very strongly that it's excessive.”

RCMP would not comment on what the officer was accused of doing, but have seized a computer from a police vehicle and other electronic devices from the home.

"Police action during any search is based on a risk assessment,” said an RCMP spokesperson. “In order to prevent injuries to all parties involved, police may use a number of options when conducting a search. In this case, actions of the RCMP were consistent with this approach."

Jessome says she’s looking to find out who gave the directive and why police came in so heavy handed, reportedly leaving a young woman traumatized and feeling uncomfortable in her own home.

“Is it related to what happen this summer with the cars? We were actually complaining publicly about the managers having unmarked cars, when the officers don't have the quantity they need to be able to do their job,” said Jessome.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.