An RCMP officer is being exonerated after an incident in which they injured a physician en route to an emergency procedure.
Alberta’s Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) was called in to investigate an incident on December 7th, 2019.
According to ASIRT, an altercation occurred between a physician driving to the Northern Lights Hospital to perform an urgent procedure, and an RCMP officer manning a check stop on Highway 63. At the time of the occurrence, several vehicles were in line waiting at a check-stop operated by Alberta’s RCMP and Sheriffs.
The physician was on their way to the Northern Lights Hospital to perform an urgent procedure and attempted to bypass the check-stop.
Both the arresting officer and the Doctor gave ASIRT different accounts of the subsequent events. Still, investigators concluded that the RCMP injured the physician’s elbow in the police cruiser while placing the physician under arrest.
According to ASIRT, “[The officer] became angry and arrested the [Doctor], who in turn became angry.”
“The [Doctor] was placed in the back of a police vehicle and the [officer] closed the door, hitting the [Doctor’s] elbow and causing a painful injury.”
ASIRT concluded that there was no intent by the officer to injure the physician.
ASIRT also chastises both parties suggesting, “Both the [officer] and the [Doctor] could have taken more care in dealing with each other.”
The investigation clears the RCMP, saying no criminal offenses were committed by the arresting officer.