A Saint John police officer has been cleared following an investigation by the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT).
The independent investigation stemmed from the arrest of an intoxicated man reportedly causing a disturbance uptown in April.
The accused later lodged a formal complaint, alleging one of the officers assaulted and choked him, leaving him unable to speak for three weeks.
“A review of the evidence indicates that there was no serious injury to the [accused], so this would not fall within the scope of the SiRT’s mandate,” said the report.
“However, in the course of making this determination the SiRT undertook a criminal investigation and completed it.”
In its report, SiRT said officers did have to use force to place the suspect in the police vehicle and to prevent him from spitting in an officer’s face.
However, the investigation determined that there is no evidence to suggest the force used was excessive.
Investigators also found there was no evidence to support the choking allegation made by the accused.
“My review of the evidence indicates that there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the [officer] committed a criminal offence in connection with the [accused’s] arrest,” said the report.
You can view the full report by clicking here.
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