Allooloo acquitted

IQALUIT — An Iqaluit cop who was posted in Rae, Northwest Territories, has been acquitted of assaulting a Dene man and breaking his jaw.

The charges, filed against RCMP Const. Colin Allooloo by William Drybones, alleged that the officer assaulted Drybones in December of 1999.

Drybones was being held in the Rae drunk tank when the incident occurred. According to Drybones, Allooloo punched him several times, breaking his jaw and knocking him unconscious.

After several days of testimony from witnesses, a judge found Allooloo not guilty.

Allooloo was transferred to Rae after an incident in the Iqaluit drunk tank left a prisoner with a ruptured bladder.

Mathew Petooloosie is currently suing the RCMP for $750,000, alleging that on March 2, 1999, Allooloo purposely kneed him in the abdomen, bursting his bladder and sending him to the hospital.

Crown officials who received the result of a police investigation into the incident declared that there wasn’t enough evidence to justify charging Allooloo with an offence in the incident.