Musquodoboit Harbour RCMP Officer Cleared in Arrest of Man

The province's independent Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) has released its report regarding the arrest of a 23-year-old male made just before midnight on October 10, in Lower East Chezzetcook.

On that night the RCMP received a 911 call reporting a possible impaired driver who had threatened a man with a gun, and then drove off in a large pickup truck.  When a male RCMP officer from the Musquodoboit Harbour detachment responded, he saw the suspect vehicle and followed it into a residential driveway.  The suspect, who was driving the truck, exited the vehicle and ran from the officer.  The officer yelled at him to stop and that he was under arrest for pointing a gun. The suspect did not stop, but instead ran behind the home and into woods.  He very soon ran into an uprooted tree stump, hitting it with his face. He was knocked unconscious.  The officer contacted EHS, and the next day tests showed the man suffered a fractured orbital bone near his left eye.

SiRT determined that the officer was completely justified to attempt to arrest the male.  The injuries were not caused by the officer, but by the male’s decision to run into the dark woods.

In these circumstances there are no grounds to consider any charges against the officer.

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 Ron MacDonald, who is solely responsible for decisions respecting the laying of any charge.

Media Contact:

Ronald MacDonald, QC

Serious Incident Response Team

Director

902-424-8400

Cell: 902-718-9707

E-mail: ronald.j.macdonald@novascotia.ca