Michael Tutton, Halifax, NS (Canadian Press) – A Halifax police officer faces a charge of causing a disturbance following allegations he started a fight with two young black men, but RCMP insisted Friday the fracas wasn’t sparked by a racial slur.
RCMP investigators said they could find no evidence that a racist taunt was made by officers at the beginning of a late-night scuffle in Digby – a key assertion in a case that has inflamed racial tensions within Nova Scotia’s black community.
“The independent witnesses we have do not support that something … inappropriate was said,” Sgt. Mark Gallagher told a news conference at RCMP headquarters in Halifax.
Halifax Regional Police said Const. Adam Stewart Whynott, 26, had been charged and reassigned to a desk job while the criminal case makes its way through the courts.
Whynott has been with the department for three years.
The RCMP also said William Edward Drummond, one of the black men involved in the fight, was also charged with causing a disturbance and resisting a police officer.
Drummond, 20, and Nathaniel Fells, 19, have said they were leaving a Digby bar on June 22 when they encountered a van full of off-duty police officers. They’ve stated repeatedly that the fight only began after they were racially insulted by an officer and pursued down the street.
However, Gallagher said a witness they interviewed couldn’t confirm hearing the racial insult and he urged residents of Digby not to read too much into the incident.
“People have to look at this for what it is: a disturbance between two individuals,” he said. “Obviously these kinds of things shouldn’t happen, but they happen on a regular basis and it shouldn’t be made more than what it is.”
Both men are to appear in court Sept. 22.
Darlene Lawrence, a black member of a police anti-racism committee in Digby, said members of the black community “aren’t happy with these charges against Mr. Drummond.”
She is one of a handful of people who have viewed a town video of the incident, and has stated that she believes the young men were backing away from the officers.
“If you ask me, ‘Did these young black men instigate this situation?’ My answer would be, ‘No, absolutely not,”‘ she said.
“From viewing the video, it’s very clear to me that something very derogatory was said to these black men as they walked past the vehicle.”
She doubts that any witness was close enough to hear if a slur was or wasn’t made at the outset of the incident.
“From what I saw on the video, the witnesses I believe they’re referring to wouldn’t have heard the beginning of this conversation.”
Still, Const. Jeff Carr, a spokesman for the Halifax police, said much remains unclear about the incident.
“I don’t think it would be fair to paint this as a racially motivated incident by any means,” he said. “Allow the evidence to come out in court.”
Drummond and Fells had just left a bar in downtown Digby at about 2 a.m. when they walked by a van filled with off-duty officers from police departments in Halifax and New Glasgow, as well as from the RCMP.
The officers were in town to take part in a charity event.
Fells and Drummond say a fight broke out shortly after they heard a racial taunt from a man who appeared to be drunk and was leaning against the van.
The two young men were arrested and taken to the local police station, but were later released without charges. They have both filed complaints of police brutality.
Nathaniel’s father, Rev. Michael Alden Fells, has said the video of the incident shows one of the officers taking a swing at Drummond, who then throws a punch that knocks out the officer.
The RCMP said prosecutors have the surveillance video and it won’t be released until the case is heard in court.
The young men also allege the on-duty officers who were called in to break up the fight did little to protect them and favoured the off-duty cops.
Gallagher said Friday the RCMP investigation found no evidence to back that complaint.
Earlier this year, the top Mountie in the province publicly apologized to Digby’s black community for the offensive behaviour of a former detachment commander.
Meanwhile, the New Glasgow and Halifax police forces are conducting internal investigations into the brawl.
An initial investigation was conducted by the Digby RCMP detachment. The RCMP’s major crime unit from the southwest region was then called in.
The unit interviewed witnesses and forwarded recommendations to the Crown attorney’s office.
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