Manitoba police recruit Tasered by fellow officer, annual report states

A female police recruit who was Tasered by a fellow police officer filed one of 139 complaints made to the Law Enforcement Review Agency in 2015.

The annual report was presented to Manitoba Justice Minister Heather Stefanson on Monday.

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The woman, who was enrolled at a law enforcement academy in the province, was Tasered before a ride-along with a town police officer, the report says. The report does not specify which town.

The officer picked up a Taser that had been left on a table in a common room at the police station, told the recruit it wasn't "live" and fired it at her from about a metre away, the report states.

The probes discharged and struck her in the left thigh and groin area.

Despite being shaken up, she removed the probes, bandaged the puncture wounds and went on the ride-along.

Within 30 minutes, the pain increased in her leg and she had a difficult time remaining seated, the report says.

On her way home after the ride-along she experienced tightness in her chest and had difficulty breathing, the report states; she was treated in hospital and released.

The woman's complaint to the Law Enforcement Review Agency was referred to the executive director of policing and public safety, who asked an outside agency to investigate.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team investigated and the officer was charged and convicted of assault.

The officer resigned from the police service before he was convicted.

The Law Enforcement Review Agency, which was established in 1985, is a provincial non-police agency that investigates public complaints against municipal or local police.

The annual report states it received 139 formal complaints in 2015, up from 138 in 2014.

Of the 92 investigations that were completed, 52 were abandoned or withdrawn, 17 were dismissed because they were out of the scope of the Law Enforcement Review Agency, 20 were dismissed by the LERA commissioner because there was insufficient evidence to continue, one was resolved informally, one went to a public hearing before a provincial court judge and the one involving the Tasered recruit was dealt with in the courts.

The most common complaints are the use of unnecessary violence followed by being rude.