Former RCMP detachment commander not guilty of assault

Cpl. Ian Crowe, a former RCMP detachment commander in Sanirajak, was found not guilty of assault in court in Iqaluit Monday.

“He must be acquitted,” Judge Susan Charlesworth said in handing down her verdict.

Crowe was accused of driving a man’s head into the ground multiple times following an arrest in the hamlet on June 30, 2020.

At Crowe’s trial, which ran from Feb. 21 to 23, his detachment colleague at the time, Const. Tyson Richard, testified he saw Crowe drive the man’s head into the gravel two or three times while they tried to bring the man inside the detachment.

Crowe pleaded not guilty.

He testified that he fell on top of the man’s head in the struggle to get the man inside, and that the fall caused the gash on the man’s head.

Richard reported Crowe’s alleged assault on July 11, 2020, following a fishing trip the two officers took during which Crowe asked Richard to return to Sanirajak earlier than expected.

The two witnesses at the trial were Crowe and Richard. The Crown told the court that the man allegedly assaulted did not wish to attend the trial.

In reaching her verdict, Charlesworth said she did not find Richard’s evidence convincing.

Court heard that in Richard’s supplementary notes made following the arrest, he didn’t mention Crowe driving the man’s head into the gravel.

The Crown argued Richard did not mention the alleged assault in his notes because Richard works in a two-man detachment and he was concerned about upsetting Crowe, who was his commanding officer.

However, Charlesworth said that when Richard was asked why he did not include Crowe’s alleged assault in his initial notes, Richard said it was because he had read Crowe’s general report and the two were “not on the same page” regarding Crowe’s actions.

The problem, Charlesworth said, is that Richard’s notes were completed as required on June 30 and Crowe’s general report was not finished until after midnight on July 1.

“I am not convinced beyond reasonable doubt that Const. Richard was reticent to put the account in his notes in fear of reprisal,” Charlesworth said.

Richard had also said that he did not take photos of the man in the evening, after the man had allegedly been injured from having his head driven into the ground by Crowe.

No photos were taken showing blood on the gravel, either, where the assault was alleged to have occurred.

At the trial, Richard said there was someone on an ATV who might have witnessed Crowe’s alleged assault, but Charlesworth said it appears there was no effort to find the potential witness.

Charlesworth said she also found it suspicious that the complaint about Crowe was not made until several days later, after an argument Richard had with Crowe on the fishing trip.

Charlesworth said testimony from the alleged victim would have been helpful, as he could confirm one version of events or the other.

This trial, which was by judge only, follows the W.(D.) legal principle, Charlesworth said. That refers to a case where determining whether a person is guilty comes down to the credibility of the witnesses.

Charlesworth said according to this principle, if she believes Crowe then she must find him not guilty, and if she is unsure who to believe she must also find Crowe not guilty.