Police watchdog not recommending charges against RCMP officer accused of injuring man
Man's left testicle, crushed during his arrest, was removed at hospital
Manitoba's police watchdog is not recommending charges for an RCMP officer who was involved in a 2023 arrest that left a man seriously injured with a crushed testicle.
On the night of Oct. 27, 2023, RCMP officers conducted a traffic stop on a pickup truck parked in Stonewall, Man. — about 30 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
Police say the driver, a woman, started the car and sped off as officers approached, leading to an hour-long chase, according to a report released Thursday by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU), which investigates all serious incidents involving police in the province.
After police stopped the vehicle using a spike strip near Highway 8 at Emes Road, officers pulled the driver and a male passenger from the truck. The passenger hit the asphalt during the arrest, according to the IIU report.
The passenger told IIU investigators that multiple officers detained him, with one of them either kicking, punching or stepping on his testicles while he was on the ground. He immediately felt extreme pain, he said.
Both suspects were taken to the Stonewall RCMP detachment, where the passenger told officers about his injury.
He was taken to Selkirk Regional Health Centre and then transferred to the Health Sciences Centre, where an ultrasound showed a ruptured left testicle, according to the report.
His testicle was removed.
The IIU says its investigators interviewed the passenger, driver, eight witness officers and four medical officials. The implicated officer declined an interview.
On Jan. 27, the Manitoba Prosecution Service advised the watchdog that it is not recommending charges against the officer, finding "a reasonable doubt exists as to whether the officer's use of force was excessive."
Based on the Crown's findings, the watchdog's civilian director does not recommend charges and has closed the case.