A Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) officer has lied to Alberta's police watchdog but won't be charged after the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) admitted it took too long on the investigation..It was one of two incidents reported by ASIRT on Thursday that criminal charges didn't go ahead because the agency took too long to investigate..On Thursday, ASIRT said it had completed its investigations into five separate incidents and released reports on the findings of the executive director and assistant executive director..In one those reports, ASIRT was directed to investigate the use of force by an LPS officer..On the night of Oct. 27 and into the early morning of Oct. 28, 2018, a large group, estimated to be between 400 and 500 people, attended a Hallowe'en party at a community hall at 636 21 St. in Lethbridge..ASIRT said the party became disorderly, with multiple calls about it coming into LPS. The first call came in at 11:57 p.m. on Oct. 27, from the nearby Coast Hotel.."Security at the hotel complained to police about the partygoers causing problems at the hotel, and possible underage drinking. At 1:31 a.m. on October 28, a civilian witness called 9-1-1 and said that someone had tried to jump him, including punching him in the head and pointing a gun at him.".A few seconds later, another 9-1-1 call came in, with the caller saying the party was out of control, and she needed help..She said there was blood on the walls, people fighting, people with baseball bats, people trashing the building, alcohol and drugs involved, injured people and someone with a gun..ASIRT said yelling and screaming were heard in the background during the call. Many of these issues were later confirmed by surveillance video at the hall, including fighting and someone discharging a fire extinguisher for an improper purpose..After the fire extinguisher was used, the caller to 9-1-1 was outside and part of a crowd of people, some of whom were confronting the person who used it..Suddenly, the LPS officer came out of nowhere, grabbed a person by the throat, and punched him in the face. A witness then tackled the LPS officer and all three fell to the ground..According to the report, the officer then sat on the person's chest who he punched after the witness ran away..Another person at the party said someone told the officer about a male with a gun. After some fighting that he was involved in, he was on the street around some fighting..The report said the LPS officer then told him to “come here,” but he refused and started swearing at the officer..The officer then grabbed the person by the throat, pushed him, and punched him once. The LPS officer said, “You wanna go?” during the altercation. .ASIRT said the incident was captured on video..ASIRT said the evidence from witnesses shows an unprovoked assault by the LPS officer on the person he punched.."It was not proportionate, necessary, or reasonable on the evidence they provided. The LPS officer's version was contradicted by the video evidence," ASIRT said.."While it provides a defence, this contradiction makes it unlikely to be accepted. It is possible that important events occurred just before the video starts. However, the evidence covers this period and is un-contradicted by the current evidence."."There were therefore reasonable grounds to believe that an offence may have been committed by the LPS officer and, as required by the Police Act, this matter was referred to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) on February 22, for an opinion on whether charges should be laid.".On May 8, the ACPS provided an opinion to ASIRT that recommended no charges against the LPS officer "as a prosecution was not in the public interest due to the lengthy delay."."ASIRT acknowledges this delay and has recently undertaken steps to ensure, as best as possible, that when grounds exist for the Executive Director to send a file to ACPS it is sent as soon as possible," ASIRT said.."The officer was not truthful in his statement or notes on the police file. The officer claims that he 'threw a check' at the man. What he actually did was grab the man by the throat, push him, and then punch him in the face.".No charges were laid because of the delay..Lloydminster.In a separate incident, a Lloydminster RCMP officer appears to be off the hook as well after a lengthy ASIRT investigation..In 2018, the Lloydminster RCMP detachment received a complaint of two men fighting outside of a local business. One of the men was described as Caucasian and the other indigenous..ASIRT said in its report when one of the men was approached by officers he appeared to be intoxicated and when they spoke with him he became verbally abusive and took a confrontational stance..ASIRT said when the officers first approached him at the scene of his arrest, h called them “pigs.".He stated that when the officers grabbed him, he slipped. With this action they may have thought he was resisting, as one of the officers gave him two cheap shots (punches) in the face; which was in the same area where the other man had hit him..The man was then placed in the back seat of the police car. During the interview of the man, he did not report any injuries as a result of this incident. There were no visible injuries either. The man did advise that he had a severe migraine headache after being released from police custody, and that it was still a bit painful..The man did not seek any medical care after this incident. The prisoner photo of the man taken approximately two hours after the incident does not show any visible injuries to his face..The man was brought to a cell so the RCMP could complete a search of the man in a more secure area..As the Mountie started to move the man away from the counter and towards where the cell was, the man pulled away..The Mountie then lost control of the man but then grabbed him around his head and shoulders..A witness officer said he tried to take him to the ground but was unsuccessful in doing so..He was telling the man to stop resisting, saying “Quit it.” The witness officer stated that the man said something to the effect of “Let’s f**king go.”.A Mountie then punched the man four to five times in the face. The punches did not seem to have any effect on the man the witness said..The ASIRT report states the Mountie then elbowed the man two or three times to stop the resistance. The report said the elbows did cause the man to stop resisting so that they could get him into the cell..He was subsequently searched by the two officers without any further issues. The witness officer could not recall if he told the Mountie something to the effect of, “Okay [first name], [first name] Okay” when he was punching the man. He also did not recall telling the Mounties they would need to charge the man with assaulting a police officer..The witness officer said he believed that the grounds for an assault of a police officer charge did not exist, but that grounds for resisting a police officer charge did; and was appropriate given the man's actions..After giving his statement, the witness officer was shown the video of the incident, and he provided a verbal description of what was on the video..He noted that the man used more punches and elbows than he first thought. Investigators also spoke with two other witness officers..However, neither of these officers observed the incident first-hand..As a result, being of the opinion that an offence may have been committed, on Feb. 7, the Executive Director of ASIRT forwarded the file to the ACPS for an opinion on whether a charge should be pursued..The Mountie who punched the drunk man was not charged because of the lengthy delay in the investigation.."ASIRT acknowledges that the delay in getting this matter to ACPS for an opinion was too lengthy, and this is not the standard by which we are guided, nor hold ourselves to," ASIRT said.."As no charge(s) will be pursued against the officer the file is being concluded. Steps have recently been taken to ensure, as best as possible, that when an investigation provides the grounds for the Executive Director to form the opinion that an offence had been committed, it is forwarded to ACPS as quickly as possible."
