TERRACE, B.C. – A RCMP officer will not spend time in jail for assaulting a teenager in Terrace, B.C., during a violent arrest more than two years ago.
However the suspended sentence handed to Const. Bruce Lofroth by a provincial court judge on Wednesday will mean he’ll have a conviction registered against him.
Lofroth must also serve 12 months probation, 100 hours of community service, attend counselling and pay a $200 fine.
Lofroth pleaded guilty in August to an assault charge after footage of the arrest in May 2014 surfaced online.
The video shows two Mounties kneeling beside the teen who was lying on a sidewalk in the northwestern B.C. city.
An officer wearing black leather gloves punches the young man’s body and head and once the boy is handcuffed, the same officer strikes him in the face.
Judge Edmond de Walle said the conviction of the officer was in the public interest so First Nations youth won’t fear being abused by other law enforcement officers.
De Walle said he didn’t condone the actions Lofroth took during the arrest.
The judge ordered that Lofroth serve his community service by working with First Nations youth.
However, de Walle said a firearms prohibition for the officer was inappropriate.
A spokeswoman from RCMP headquarters in B.C. said she didn’t have immediate information on Lofroth’s status as an officer.
The Independent Investigations Office, which investigates police-involved deaths and serious injuries, was called in by the commanding officer of the Terrace detachment after video of the incident was revealed.
De Walle was brought into Terrace from out of town to sentence the officer. (CFTK)
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