Pair of RCMP incidents probed

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/08/2017 (2444 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s Independent Investigation Unit (IIU) is investigating a pair of incidents involving RCMP officers — one regarding injuries to a woman held in custody in Portage la Prairie, and the other regarding the unsafe storage of a Winnipeg officer’s service pistol.

On Aug. 12, a 33-year-old woman was stopped while driving on Long Plain First Nation and arrested by officers of the Dakota Ojibway Police Service. She was charged with driving while disqualified and impaired driving.

Once transferred to the Portage RCMP detachment, the woman sustained a cut to her forehead.

According to the IIU’s legislation, the unit must be notified immediately if “a serious injury to a person may have resulted from the actions of a police officer.”

The IIU said in a release on Thursday the woman wasn’t seriously injured, but that civilian director Zane Tessler determined it was in the public interest for the police watchdog to take over the investigation after RCMP informed it of the incident on Aug. 15.

The IIU’s investigation into the “careless” storage of an RCMP officer’s gun began on Tuesday, four days after the incident occurred inside a Flin Flon hotel, a spokeswoman for the investigation unit told the Free Press on Thursday.

She could not confirm whether the officer was at the hotel on RCMP business.

There were no injuries or incidents related to the improper storage, according to the release, but Tessler also decided the incident was one of public interest.

When asked to explain the delay in informing the IIU about both incidents, an RCMP spokeswoman said the Police Services Act requires the unit be notified immediately “or as soon as is practicable” in any case where an on-duty or an off-duty officer is alleged to be involved in a death, a serious injury or a contravention of a federal or provincial law.

“If IIU needs to take over a scene, notification is to happen immediately,” she wrote.

“In other instances, it is as soon as is practicable, and that can depend on a number of operational circumstances.

“As the investigations (you) refer to sit with the IIU, I cannot get into any specifics.”

The IIU spokeswoman declined to comment on the delay in reporting the incidents.

Because both investigations are ongoing, the investigation unit is not yet providing any further details into either incident.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca