Manitoba

Manitoba police watchdog charges RCMP officer with assault

An RCMP officer from Thompson has been charged with assault causing bodily harm.

Const. Jeremiah Dumont-Fontaine is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 25

A 50-year-old man was injured during an arrest by RCMP in Thompson earlier this year. The IIU has authorized charges against an RCMP constable. (Trevor Brine/CBC)

An RCMP officer from Thompson has been charged with assault causing bodily harm.

The charges stem from an incident on June 5, 2019, when officers were called about a man causing a disturbance at the Thompson Inn in the northern Manitoba city.

A 50-year-old man was arrested, but in the process he sustained a cut to his forehead that needed to be stitched at the hospital, according to the Independent Investigation Unit. The IIU announced in July that it was looking into the incident.

In a release issued on Friday, IIU civilian director Zane Tessler said there are reasonable and probable grounds to believe a criminal offence occurred.

As a result, he authorized charges to be laid against Const. Jeremiah Dumont-Fontaine.

Dumont-Fontaine is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 25 in Thompson.

As the matter is now before the courts, the IIU said it would not make any further comments.