KELOWNA — A Kelowna RCMP officer has been found not guilty of assault in an incident outside a downtown pub in June of 2014.
Several members of the RCMP were in the Kelowna courtroom on Tuesday to hear the judge’s decision and to show support for their colleague.
READ MORE: Kelowna Mountie on trial for alleged criminal assault during arrest
Cst. Grant Jacobson was charged with one count of common assault after he threw John McCormick to the ground and punched him several times during an arrest at Roses Pub.
Jacobson’s lawyer, Norm Yates, says the decision will give his client and other officers some confidence.
“If the decision had gone the other way, it would have thrown into question what the scope of the authority was when they’re dealing with a member of the public in a situation that is getting out of hand,” says Yates.
The incident happened shortly after 2 a.m. outside the pub. Jacobson testified an intoxicated McCormick was ignoring demands to leave the pub at closing time and grabbed for his service pistol.
Surveillance video from the pub does not show McCormick reaching for Cst. Jacobson’s gun but the judge said it is possible McCormick unintentionally touched the officer’s belt which could have lead him to believe McCormick was trying to reach the firearm.
McCormick was not present at the courthouse on Tuesday but he denied reaching for the gun in a previous interview with Global News.
“I did not do that,” said McCormick in the May 2015 interview. “Do I look stupid, going for a police officer’s gun?”
Cst. Jacobson says he is elated with the judge’s decision.
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