Mounties won't be charged in Swan River arrest that injured suspect
Manitoba's police watchdog says RCMP officers will not be charged in connection with an arrest last year that resulted in a man suffering an injury to his liver.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba concluded the three Swan River RCMP officers employed necessary force to protect the man and themselves during the arrest.
The Mounties were called to the man's home on Dec. 1, 2015, after he had phoned the Centre for Adult Psychiatry in Brandon, Man., and threatened violence against other people, an IIU news release issued Monday says.
While the officers tried to arrest the man under the Mental Health Act, the man tried to grab a service firearm belonging to one of the officers, the news release says.
"Officers used force to restrain and control the man, and eventually he was subdued and taken to the Swan River detachment, where he complained of feeling unwell," the release says.
"He was taken to the local hospital and diagnosed with an intra-abdominal bleed from blunt trauma, bruising to his right eye and some abrasions. He was then transferred by ambulance to Dauphin Hospital and diagnosed with a liver laceration injury."
IIU civilian director Zane Tessler determined there are no grounds to justify any charges against the officers, the news release says.
"The arresting officers had sufficient grounds to make an arrest under the Mental Health Act and … the force they employed was necessary to minimize harm to the individual and themselves while carrying out the arrest," the news release states in part.
The suspect has been charged with two Criminal Code offences and one offence under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The IIU did not specify what those charges are and declined to comment further on the case.
The Independent Investigation Unit investigates all serious incidents, both on-duty and off-duty, involving police officers in Manitoba.
