A Warman RCMP corporal has been given a conditional discharge after he pleaded guilty to a crime earlier this year.
Court heard on Tuesday that the 16-year member of the force “snapped” after a series of traumatic calls and assaulted a 19-year-old who was under arrest.
READ MORE: Warman RCMP officer to be sentenced on assault charges
The initial incident, as detailed by police, stems from Feb. 24, 2016, when police received a call of a suspicious man going through vehicles in Warman, Sask.
The photos above show the marks left on the man after the Crown said he was choked, punched and slammed into a police cruiser by Cpl. Dean Flaman.
“The Crown’s position was – we were opposed to a discharge because in this circumstance there was a significant aggravating factor being that Cpl. Flaman was in a position of trust in relation to a prisoner who was cooperating with an arrest.”
If Flaman follows conditions laid out by the court for the next 12 months, he won’t have a criminal record.
Some of those conditions include 250 hours of community service to be performed by Flaman and an apology to the victim, either in person or in writing.
“It’s more likely now that he’s going to keep his job and frankly, he should keep his job,” defence lawyer Brad Mitchell said.
“I think it’s pretty clear from the letters of support and facts of this case that this was an isolated incident.”
The incident was said to be uncharacteristic for Flaman who, leading up to the call, had responded to a motor vehicle collision on Highway 16 near Langham that left three dead, including two little boys.
Flaman was then sent to a gruesome teen suicide in the area where he sat for hours next to the deceased, waiting for forensics to arrive.
“Both of the incidents that he was called to prior to the night of February 24th those would have been stressful and traumatic to any officer and certainly were to him,” Mitchell said.
READ MORE: Warman RCMP corporal pleads guilty to assault
Flaman was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from family violence he experienced in his childhood and these two events.
On Tuesday, Mitchell outlined for the court that Flaman was unfit to go to work the day of the assault given what he had just experienced.
“I would suggest in a situation like that there should be a debriefing, some time to possibly get some counseling if necessary,” Mitchell said.
“Just having it back-to-back-to-back the way it played out – is really hard on anyone’s psyche I’d suggest.”
READ MORE: Warman RCMP officer charged after alleged altercations with 2 youth in custody
After his arrest, Flaman was suspended with pay and a code of conduct investigation was launched. He has since been reinstated after two weeks without pay and reassigned to desk duty.
“Ultimately, he wants to go back to his original duties as patrol officer with the RCMP,” Mitchell said.
According to Mitchell, an end to this case has brought the officer some closure. Flaman is said to be very remorseful and will have no problem providing an apology to the victim, so hopefully the teen can move on as well.
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