Winnipeg police officer charged under Traffic Act after crash that left man with broken back

A Winnipeg police officer has been charged under Manitoba's Highway Traffic Act after a motor vehicle collision that left a man with a broken pelvis and broken back last December, the province's main police oversight body says.

In a December news release, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba said the officer, who was driving a police cruiser, was involved in collision at the intersection of Pembina Highway and Dalhousie Drive, in south Winnipeg, on Dec. 20, 2020.

The officer and a civilian driver, a 52-year-old man, were both sent to Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre. The officer had minor injuries and was treated and released, but the other driver sustained a broken pelvis and broken back, the December release said.

Under its mandate to investigate all serious incidents involving Manitoba police, the Independent Investigation Unit began an investigation.

On Wednesday, the police watchdog said that investigation has concluded. The unit's civilian director, Zane Tessler, found there are reasonable grounds to believe there was an offence under Section 95(2) of the provincial Highway Traffic Act, which relates to the "duty to keep reasonable and prudent speed."

That section says even if driving under the speed limit, a person may be guilty of an offence if they drive in a way that "is not reasonable and prudent" given the circumstances, or "constitutes or may constitute a danger to any person on or near the highway."

The officer has been issued a summons to appear in provincial court in Winnipeg on June 22, the release says.

The investigative unit will not comment further on the case as it is now before the courts, it adds.

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