A Kelowna RCMP officer who has been charged with criminally assaulting two people he was arresting will not face charges in a third case of alleged assault.
When Jeremy Packer was arrested last summer under the false accusation he was stealing a speed boat, he was punched several times in the head by Constable Geoff Mantler.
Mantler claimed Packer was resisting arrest; Packer later laid a formal complaint against the constable.
On Thursday, the Crown announced Mantler will not be charged for the alleged assault, saying prosecutors concluded “the force was used for legitimate purposes and that it was proportionate and reasonable”.
In reaching its decision the Criminal Justice Branch says it considered the evidence of the complainant, the police officers involved, several independent civilian witnesses who observed portions of the incident, the circumstances leading up to the incident, the Criminal Code provisions relating to the use of force by police officers and relevant prior judicial decisions.
Mantler, however, still faces internal RCMP discipline through three Code of Conduct investigations.
He is accused of three incidents of disgraceful conduct in the arrests of Jeremy Packer, Buddy Tavares, who Mantler kicked in the face in January, and a third man in a separate incident where excessive force was allegedly used.
Superintendent Bill McKinnon of the Kelowna RCMP says the behaviour that Constable Mantler is accused of has fallen short of the expectations he and the public has of the RCMP.
McKinnon is recommending Mantler go before a three member RCMP adjudication board to face formal discipline.
Three outcomes are possible: dismissal from the RCMP, demotion or the loss of up to 10 days pay per count.
Mantler is currently suspended with full pay although there have been moves to have him stripped of his salary.
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