Not enough evidence to charge Altona officer accused of pointing gun at girl, says police watchdog

Manitoba's police watchdog has cleared a rural officer accused of pulling a teen girl from a cruiser car and pointing a gun at her head.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba released its decision Tuesday into the 2015 allegations lodged against a member of the Altona Police Service.

In December that year, police in the southern Manitoba town arrested the girl because she was violating conditions of her parole by being in Altona. An APS officer and a security guard took the youth in the back of a police vehicle from Altona to Winnipeg, about 100 kilometres north.

About three years later, in November 2018, the girl again came into contact with Altona police. This time she told the arresting officers that in her past run-in with Altona police in 2015, an officer and a guard pulled her from the vehicle and pointed a firearm at her head, the IIU said.

Altona police contacted the investigative unit, which started an investigation last fall that involved interviewing the girl, the officer, the security guard and others.

Though the teen's recollection of the events remained consistent over time, there were some discrepancies in her story, said Independent Investigation Unit civilian director Zane Tessler. That included whether it was the officer, guard or both who pointed the gun at her.

"The mandate of IIU does not include authorizing criminal charges in the absence of cogent, trustworthy and sufficient evidence to support that decision," Tessler said in a release.

The unit investigates all allegations of serious incidents involving police in Manitoba.