An instructor at Regina’s RCMP Training Academy is facing an assault charge after allegedly punching a driver outside the Regina airport.
Cpl. Philippe Marcel Cleroux, 37, has been charged with common assault in connection with the incident, which is alleged to have occurred at the Regina International Airport on Sept. 11, 2016.
According to Regina police, a man came to the Regina Police Service station on that day and said he had been the victim of an assault between 1:10 p.m. and 1:20 p.m. just outside the airport.
Regina police said it is alleged the driver of one vehicle approached the driver of another vehicle behind him and assaulted the second driver by punching him in the face when the second driver rolled down his window.
Cleroux was arrested on Dec. 21 and released on an officer’s recognizance to appear in provincial court on Jan. 30.
Elizabeth Popowich, a Regina police spokesperson, said in a written statement that the accused was “acting as a private citizen when the alleged assault occured.” She also wrote that the police don’t typically do written news releases for common assault.
A spokesperson from the RCMP Depot Division confirmed that Cleroux is a police defensive tactics facilitator at the academy and was off duty at the time of the alleged incident. The spokesperson also said the nature of the charges is “considered not to be interfering with his work and his working status as an instructor at the RCMP Academy has not changed.”
A Code of Conduct investigation has been initiated by the RCMP and could possibly lead to disciplinary measures.
Regina police’s investigation is also ongoing.