Crown, defence give closing arguments in assault trial for former Nunavut RCMP detachment commander

A week and a half from now, the Nunavut Court of Justice is set to decide whether a former RCMP detachment commander is guilty of assaulting a man he had arrested.

Ian Crowe, who was head of the detachment in Sanirajak, Nunavut, when he was charged with assault in June 2020, has been on trial since Tuesday. He testified in his own defence Wednesday.

Justice Susan Charlesworth, who is hearing this case, is set to issue her decision the afternoon of March 6.

On Tuesday, the court heard from Const. Tyson Richard, who worked with Crowe on the day in question and who reported the alleged assault.

He testified tensions grew between Crowe and a man who had been arrested twice in the same day, with the second arrest culminating in Crowe hitting the man's face repeatedly into gravel as he and Richard brought the man into the police station.

On Wednesday, Crowe testified the injuries the man received came as a result of the man falling onto his face while handcuffed and unable to brace himself.

During cross-examination Thursday, Crowe admitted he yelled and swore at the man, who had refused to let go of a lighter. The alleged assault, according to Richard, would have happened immediately after.

In closing arguments Thursday, Crown prosecutor Leo Lane argued Crowe had been angry and lost his cool, leading to the assault. Lane pointed out that Crowe removed the mattress from the cell they put the man in, arguing it was an "act of cruelty" because it didn't need to be removed, and showed that Crowe was angry.

The court heard the man remained in the cell without a mattress and partially unclothed for about 16 hours until his bail hearing the next day.

Video from the cells also shows Crowe kneeing the man twice and punching him once while they were putting him into his cell, which Crowe confirmed during his testimony.

The court also heard Crowe had offered to take the man to the health centre, but the man declined. The court heard later that RCMP protocol requires officers asses or offer medical care to wounded individuals.

Defence lawyer Robb Beeman said the case comes down to a "he said, he said."

He argued Richard's memory wasn't reliable, as Richard had testified he couldn't remember certain details from that day. Richard also testified he did not mention the incident in his general report or his notes, and did not report it until 11 days later, which Richard said was because he was worried Crowe — who was his supervisor — would read the report.

The alleged assault was also not mentioned in Crowe's general report that day.