Ottawa police complete investigation of alleged police beating in Iqaluit cell

After RCMP officers leave Eetooloo Ejetsiak’s cell Jan. 2, 2015, video footage shows the man lying hunched over his knees on the floor in a pool of blood.

The Ottawa Police Service says it has handed over its investigation into a 2015 scuffle between a detainee and two RCMP officers in an Iqaluit cellblock.

The incident under investigation involves Eetooloo Ejetsiak, an Iqaluit man who appears naked in closed circuit video footage from an Iqaluit RCMP cell on Jan. 2, 2015.

The footage shows an intoxicated Ejetsiak confronted by three uniformed officers before one of the officers hits Ejetsiak with a fist that also holds a taser gun.

Ejetsiak then crumples to the ground while a pool of blood collects under his face.

The third-party investigation into the incident took more than 15 months to complete following the time Ejetsiak’s complaint was first filed.

For its part, the Nunavut RCMP acknowledged June 14 that the report has been completed, but hasn’t yet indicated if and when the force will make public its findings.

Ejetsiak is currently serving a 36-month sentence in a federal institution on a number of charges to which he pleaded guilty in 2015, including assault and uttering threats.

Ottawa police also investigated alleged excessive force an an Iqaluit RCMP cell in a separate 2014 incident, concluding that officers acted “within the scope of their duties.”