A March 2017 incident in which an Edmonton police officer tried to remove a “community member” from the Boyle Street Community Centre has led to the officer being charged with assault, police said in a news release on Monday.
Police did not provide further details about what happened, including information about whether the victim was injured and if so, how seriously.
They said the incident is alleged to have taken place on March 25 and the charges are the result of an investigation by the Edmonton Police Service’s (EPS) Professional Standards Branch in consultation with the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service. When asked if the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (Alberta’s police watchdog) was called in to investigate, an EPS spokesperson told Global News they were not.
Const. Jason Bouwmeester, who was hired by the EPS in 2013, was charged with one count of assault on Monday.
The EPS said Bouwmeester remains on active duty in a non-patrol capacity.