21 hours ago
No charges for off-duty RCMP officer accused of hit-and-run: IIU
Manitoba's police watchdog recommended no charges for an off-duty RCMP officer accused of a hit-and-run in a northern community.
The incident happened in Nelson House on Dec. 30, 2023, just after midnight.
According to the initial notification received by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU), a man told officers he had been run over by a black truck. Police later discovered the driver of the vehicle was an off-duty officer from another detachment.
The notification said the man claimed the driver had got out of his vehicle and offered him money to stay silent. It added a civilian witness corroborated the story while speaking to officers, saying the driver picked up the man and punched him in the face and then asked them not to say anything.
When officers visited the man in hospital, the IIU said he then told them it was actually someone else who had hit him.
Another civilian witness called RCMP to report the hit-and-run, saying the off-duty officer had come to their house and told them he had almost hit the man. Police got statements from two other civilian witnesses who said the off-duty officer had come to their homes as well, telling them the man had jumped in front of his truck and repeatedly said, 'I didn't hit him, I didn't hit him.'
However, when IIU investigators went to speak to the alleged victim and the civilian witnesses, they all refused to participate.
'(The affected person) told the investigators, 'I don't want to talk to you,'' the IIU report reads.
'IIU investigators made repeated efforts to obtain further evidence related to the investigation from the civilian witnesses. Unfortunately, the civilian witnesses were unable or unwilling to cooperate with the IIU investigators.'
The off-duty officer also refused to be interviewed by IIU investigators.
During the investigation, the IIU said it interviewed five witness officers, including one who said prior to the incident being reported, they were flagged down by a man who said he had almost hit a person. The officer told IIU investigators they later came across the alleged victim and a witness on the road, both of whom appeared to be intoxicated at the time.
They told the officer of a hit-and-run but refused to say who the driver was.
The officer didn't find out the driver of the truck was an off-duty officer until the next day.
The IIU said CCTV cameras did not capture the incident, photos of the off-duty officer's truck revealed nothing of significance, and medical records were unavailable as the officer was unwilling to participate in the investigation.
'With the lack of cooperation from (the affected person) and the civilian witnesses, it is impossible to consider criminal charges against the subject officer,' Bruce Sychuk, the IIU's acting civilian director, wrote in the report.
Sychuk said no charges are recommended and the IIU investigation is now completed and closed.
You can read the full report online.
