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No Charges to be Laid in Assault Allegation Involving Cape Breton Police Officer.
The province's independent Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) has concluded its investigation regarding an allegation of assault made against an officer with the Cape Breton Regional Police (CBRP) in July 2018. It was determined that the evidence of the complainant was not sufficiently reliable and therefore no charges will be laid against the officer.
In the early morning hours of July 28, 2018, a young male, the affected party (AP) was arrested outside the Capri Club in Sydney, Nova Scotia, by a member of the CBRP under the Liquor Control Act for public intoxication The AP had been refused entry into the club because he was highly intoxicated and observed earlier by door staff to have a hypodermic needle on his person.
Upon arrest, the officer attempted to put the AP into the rear passenger side of the vehicle, but he stiffened his legs making it necessary for the officer to use force to push the AP into the vehicle. The AP was verbally abusive and insulting on route to the police station and made comments about no hypodermic needle being found when he was searched prior to being put in the vehicle and that perhaps the needle was in his sock. Once this comment was made the officer stopped his vehicle in a parking lot to search the AP. No hypodermic needle was found.
When they arrived at the police station, the AP would not exit the vehicle and had to be forcibly removed. The AP fell to his knees and struck his face on the pavement near another vehicle that was parked next to the officer’s vehicle. The AP had a bloody nose and the left upper arm area of his shirt was bloodied when he entered the police station.
The investigation found there were many inconsistencies in the AP’s recollection and lack of recollection of the events of July 28, 2018, as outlined in his Facebook post of the same date and media interviews he provided subsequent to the commencement of the SiRT investigation. His statement given on August 6, 2018 to the SiRT investigator, did not correspond with the observations of independent witnesses who were not intoxicated.
In these circumstances there were insufficient grounds to consider charges in the matter.
The full report is available at http://sirt.novascotia.ca.
SIRT is responsible for investigating all serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia. Investigations are under the direction and control of independent civilian director Felix Cacchione who is solely responsible for decisions respecting the laying of any charge.
Media Contact:
Felix Cacchione
Director
902-718-9707
