Glenda Luymes, (Vancouver Province) – The Kelowna RCMP officer facing possible charges after a man was kicked in the head during an arrest earlier this year could face more charges in relation to another violent arrest.
Crown counsel is now considering a second set of charges against Const. Geoff Mantler — who was suspended after he allegedly kicked Buddy Tavares in the head in a videotaped arrest in January — this time stemming from an incident involving a man who was repeatedly punched in the face after being misidentified as a boat thief.
Shortly after the Tavares arrest became public, Jeremy Packer came forward to local media, saying he was repossessing a boat in August 2010 when police arrested him for stealing it.
Packer told media he was forced out of his truck at gunpoint and punched several times by an officer, even though he was not resisting. He was never charged.
In November, he filed a formal complaint with the RCMP.
Crown counsel spokesman Neil MacKenzie said the two files are being examined by Crown lawyers in two different cities. He could not speculate on how long it would take for the charges in either case to be approved or dismissed, or what charges were being considered.
“That’s not something we will disclose,” he told The Province Wednesday. “That’s something we leave to police.”
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Annie Linteau said the August incident was investigated by Kelowna RCMP and evidence has been forwarded to Crown counsel to determine if charges will be laid. Police did not made a recommendation concerning charges.
The Abbotsford Police Department investigated the January incident, announcing they were recommending a charge of assault causing bodily harm against Mantler just nine days later.
Linteau said the circumstances of an incident dictate whether or not a detachment will investigate its own complaints.
On the difference in time it took to forward material to Crown, she said the August incident was “quite different from the other one in that we [didn’t] have the benefit of video.”
Linteau also said police had a number of witnesses to interview in relation to the August incident.
B.C Civil Liberties Association executive director David Eby said the difference in response between the two cases highlights why the RCMP should not investigate its own officers.
“This police officer that was allegedly involved in a serious assault in August should not have been on duty,” he said. “But because the RCMP didn’t take the case seriously until Tavares came forward, we had another [alleged] assault happen.”
Eby said it is up to the provincial government to change the rules on whether police departments can investigate their own.
“I think the RCMP looked at [the Tavares] video, and it changed their approach to the earlier incident … Every complaint needs to be taken seriously right away.”
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