Assault charges against RCMP officer stayed

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This article was published 30/03/2023 (1118 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Assault charges have been stayed against a Manitoba RCMP officer after prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence to support convictions.

Const. Erik Grimolfson was charged with assault and assault causing bodily harm, following an investigation by the province’s police watchdog into two separate incidents in July and November 2021.

“In the circumstances, while it is always in the public interest to take allegations of misconduct seriously, these two matters, after careful review, the Crown has concluded there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction,” Crown attorney Sarah Thiessen told provincial court Judge Keith Eyrikson at a March 1 hearing.

“Accordingly, stays are going to be entered on both counts.”

No further details were provided to court.

Mounties arrested a man July 10, 2021, for offences related to a domestic assault, the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba said at the time.

During processing for his release, the IIU said, the man said he needed medical attention. Police called for an ambulance and went with him to the hospital.

While in the ambulance, it was alleged the man struck an officer and “a struggle ensued,” the IIU said.

An X-ray showed one of the man’s ribs had been broken, which qualifies as a serious injury and the IIU began its investigation into the incident.

In a second case, on Nov. 7, 2021, the officer’s vehicle collided with a civilian on Mayfair Avenue in Winnipeg, while he was off-duty. At the time, the IIU said the officer did not stay at the scene and “failed to exchange particulars.”

While the civilian was not injured, the IIU said it was in the public interest to investigate the incident.

Investigators later determined there were grounds to lay an assault charge.