No charges for officer in collision
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/01/2024 (726 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A Brandon Police Service officer will not be prosecuted under the Highway Traffic Act for a collision that occurred in late 2018, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba announced on Thursday.
The incident happened around 2:20 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2018 and the investigation was announced on Jan. 2, 2019, the IIU said in a report.
On the day of the incident, police were searching for suspects involved in an assault at Shoppers Mall, where two men had approached another man, punched him in the face and then pointed a handgun at him before leaving.
During the search, shortly after police had spotted a pedestrian matching the description of one of the suspects, a police vehicle heading south on Ninth Street collided with a Chevrolet Cruze.
The unnamed female officer driving the police vehicle claimed the motorist in the Chevrolet rear-ended her both in a radio transmission after the incident and in a written report.
However, evidence obtained from the police vehicle’s audio-video system reviewed by a supervisor after the incident showed that the officer had stopped the vehicle and put it into reverse for two to three seconds, hitting the Chevrolet behind it at a speed of about 13 kilometres an hour.
BPS reported the incident to the IIU, which determined that an investigation was in the public interest.
The account of the incident given by the motorist was contrary to the one given by the officer, but BPS’s original report of the incident to the IIU states that it matched the video evidence.
One officer who arrived at the scene after the collision later reviewed the video evidence and pointed out to the officer driving the vehicle that her report did not line up with the evidence. After pointing out the discrepancy, the witness officer said the officer involved in the incident realized “that her recollection is not completely accurate.”
A second officer who took photos after the incident is reported to have interpreted tire marks at the scene showing “that the police vehicle was reversing.”
The file was sent to the Manitoba Prosecution Service for review, which concluded there was a reasonable likelihood of conviction but “that due to the limitation period no charges can be laid” and that “there is no public interest in proceeding.”
Ultimately, former IIU civilian director Zane Tessler determined that the standard for prosecuting charges had not been met and no charges would be considered for the officer involved.
» cslark@brandonsun.com
» X: @ColinSlark