Former Nunavut RCMP officer acquitted of assault, uttering threats

A Nunavut judge has acquitted an RCMP officer who worked in the territory and was charged with assault and uttering threats. 

Const. Luke Tomkinson was charged after an incident in Arctic Bay in 2020, where he pointed his Taser at a man during while arresting a different man in a house. 

He was charged with one count each of uttering threats and assault with a weapon. 

The incident, which was filmed and posted to social media at the time, took place in a house in the community where Tomkinson and another officer responded to a call. 

Andrew Muckpa, of the two men in the house, testified during Tomkinson's trial in Iqaluit that he swore at the police, which can be heard in the video. 

Right after he swears, the video shows Tomkinson pull out his Taser from his belt and raises it at Muckpa who is sitting out of the frame. 

"You really want some of this, do ya? I'll get you right in the f--king face," Tomkinson says. 

Muckpa, who is sitting out of the frame in the video, replies, "I'll kill you."

Tomkinson then puts the Taser back in his belt. 

At one point, Tomkinson tells the man he's arresting that he'll break his arm. 

In his decision published Friday, Nunavut Justice Christian Lyons noted the Criminal Code says police officers may use force if it's based on reasonable and necessary grounds. 

"There are a number of factors supporting this conclusion. Andrew Muckpa was only eight feet away from Const. Tomkinson at the time of the incident, appeared intoxicated, and was clearly angry with the police," Lyons wrote.