Brandon police officer charged in 2023 collision

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This article was published 27/02/2025 (224 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon police officer has been charged with two offences after a fleeing suspect was struck by a cruiser car in 2023.

The incident happened shortly after 4:20 p.m. on Sept. 24 of that year, after police were called about a man reportedly trying to attempt arson.

The man fled, and the police car hit him in front of the Brandon Police Service headquarters.

He was taken to Brandon Regional Hospital, where it was determined he had a broken arm.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba said in a news release Thursday it has determined that the officer driving the car should be charged. Const. Myran Hamm faces charges of assault causing bodily harm and dangerous driving causing bodily harm, another Criminal Code offence.

Hamm has acted as a media spokesman for the BPS.

A video of the incident shared on social media that fall shows a man being pursued by police running onto the street. An officer in a cruiser appears to intercept the man by swerving into him, the Brandon Sun reported.

A pickup truck obscures the video during the moment of contact between the man and the cruiser, though the man’s body can be seen bouncing off the pavement and then lying on the ground until officers surround him.

Christopher Schneider, a Brandon University sociology professor who has written about policing, viewed the video in 2023. He told the Sun at the time he expected the IIU to conclude that excessive force was used.

On Thursday, Schneider said he maintained the belief that the individual “did not pose an immediate threat to public safety,” and that “striking the man with a cruiser was excessive.”

“I applaud the decision by the IIU,” Schneider said, adding “what this does in terms of future direction is provide a message to both the police and the public about what sort of conduct in terms of use of force in a particular circumstance is acceptable, and what kind of conduct is unacceptable.”

“Using a police cruiser to strike someone down who does not pose an immediate threat to public safety, is the IIU signalling an unacceptable use of police force.”

An IIU annual report said it was notified about incidents by BPS nine times during the 2022-23 fiscal year.

The Police Services Act requires the IIU to be notified when a police officer is alleged to be involved in a death, serious injury or contravention of a federal or provincial law.

The IIU does not accept complaints directly from the public. Instead, Manitoba’s Law Enforcement Review Agency handles complaints from the public about police conduct.

– With files from the Brandon Sun

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca