Manitoba RCMP officer charged with assault after 2019 excessive force allegation

A Manitoba RCMP constable is facing assault charges in connection with a 2019 arrest at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport.

The Independent Investigation Unit (IIU), the province’s police watchdog, said Monday that Const. Eric Gerein will appear in a Winnipeg courtoom Sept. 26.

The charge is connected to an allegation of excessive force by Gerein and another RCMP member during an arrest at the airport Aug. 1, 2019.

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The RCMP has said they were initially called to the airport with a report of an intoxicated man who assaulted a person at the airport and then hit an officer in the face.

The man, Nathan Lasuik of Fort McMurray, Alta., argued in court in 2021 that his Charter rights were breached due to excessive use of force when he was being arrested by officers.

Surveillance video at the scene showed him hitting and kicking the officers multiple times over the course of more than a half hour, before being handcuffed and an officer appearing to kneel on his neck for nearly five minutes.

0:59 Manitoba RCMP officer charged with assault after 2019 excessive force allegation