Brennan Clarke, Victoria News
Officer allegedly handled known drug user roughly
Allegations that a Victoria police officer roughed up a drug addict inside a McDonald’s restaurant earlier this month have sparked a criminal investigation.
Chief Paul Battershill said Wednesday his detachment received a complaint alleging that excessive force was used by an officer who was called to the McDonald’s at View and Douglas streets to remove a man who was passed out inside the eatery April 15.
The complaint would normally trigger a Police Act investigation, but Battershill said preliminary interviews prompted police to suspend the Police Act investigation and launch a criminal probe instead.
The incident, recorded by security cameras, “raised some concerns” about the way the person was handled, he said.
“There’s no kicks or punches that I can see on the video, but the handling of the person was rough,” Battershill said.
The alleged victim, a known drug user, has been examined by a doctor and “doesn’t appear to have been injured,” Battershill said.
The officer in question, a former RCMP officer who has been with Victoria police since 2003, has been reassigned to a desk job pending the outcome of the investigation. The complaint against the officer was lodged by a McDonald’s employee who witnessed the incident.
Battershill said the investigation should be wrapped up “in a couple of weeks.”
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