No charges for Manitoba officer accused of using derogatory language, punching person's face: IIU

Manitoba's police watchdog is not pressing charges against a Brandon police officer who was accused of throwing a person onto the ground, punching her face and referring to her with derogatory language during an arrest. 

In October 2023, the chair of Community Mobilization Westman, a Brandon-based initiative for community safety, met with Brandon police after a Child and Family Services case worker told her a police officer called a person a "rez dog" and a "neechie" several times during an arrest. 

The officer was also accused of slamming the person against a wall of the house, throwing her to the ground and hitting her face several times during the interaction. 

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) — responsible for investigating all serious matters involving police — assumed the investigation after the person suffered injuries during the arrest. 

In its final report on the incident, completed on May 23 and published on Wednesday, the IIU said it reviewed audio from the patrol vehicle where the person and two officers were travelling. 

During the recording, someone is heard saying, "You're a neechie that's why," to which the person responded, "What the f--k, did you just really say that, that I'm a neechie?"

The IIU said it "cannot condone such language as appropriate or necessary" but it is not possible to attribute the initial comment to anyone specifically.

"Efforts must be made to do better, and education must occur to ensure that such language is not used in a derogatory context," the IIU said in its report.

Police say person was resisting arrest 

The interaction with police began hours after the female had started drinking with someone else at her house. She told the IIU they then went to smoke weed at someone else's house. 

One of the three officers who were dispatched to the area for a disturbance call told the IIU they found a group of young people who appeared to be quite intoxicated. 

Police tried to establish who the young people were, but one of them became belligerent, the officer told the IIU. 

While that person was being handcuffed, the female who's the focus of the report told the IIU she started walking toward them when another officer grabbed her by the arm and threw her against a spiky wall. 

The person said the officer tripped her to the ground. With her arms laid in front of her, she asked the officer to get off her, but he punched her in the face with an open and closed fist while telling her to stop resisting, she told the IIU. 

The officer declined to speak with the IIU in accordance with his rights. Instead, he provided an incident of force report where he said he pushed the female on her back after she attempted to run toward the person who was being arrested, despite being told not to.

After stumbling against the house, the female got up and started to assault the officer, punching and scratching his face, the officer's report said. 

The officer pulled the person to the ground where he said she continued to resist. The report said the officer tried to apply pressure to two points on her jaw and ear to keep her under control, but the person continued to kick and flail so he delivered "three high-level mechanical stuns" to her head.

The person denied she was resisting and said another officer grabbed her arms and handcuffed her. 

The officer who was trying to arrest the first person told the IIU he believed he would have been assaulted by the female if the accused officer hadn't stepped between them.   

Crown not recommending charges 

The IIU report says the person was seen at the emergency room in Brandon's hospital, where medical staff advised they didn't observe any significant injuries or concerns. 

In her original statement to the Child and Family Services case worker, the person said there had been a significant assault while she was in police custody in the hospital. 

However, the IIU said they reviewed hospital surveillance and there was no evidence that a physical altercation occurred there.

The IIU sent their investigation for review to the Manitoba Prosecution Service to determine whether any charges should be authorized against the officer. 

The Crown said it is not recommending charges because there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction for the officer based on the evidence obtained by the IIU. 

Based on the Crown's opinion, the IIU concluded no charges would be authorized and closed the investigation.