A Red Deer Mountie who was bear sprayed while making a lawful arrest has found himself on the wrong end of assault charges in relation to an incident that occurred last spring.Constable Steven Cerant appeared in Red Deer court on Tuesday charged with a single count of assault after responding to a break and enter in the central Alberta city on March 3 2023.During the process of making the arrest, Const. Cerant and other accompanying officers were assaulted and sprayed with bear repellent, leading to an altercation where the suspect in question suffered undisclosed injuries.As a result of a statutory internal investigation, Const. Cerant was eventually charged on December 1 2023 and placed on administrative duties. According to a press release, he has three years service and his duty status will be reviewed once the criminal matter has been resolved.In the statement, the RCMP said the review considered the “totality of the incident, including the actions of the RCMP, the use of force during the incident and the duty status of the member.”“The Alberta RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts and it’s important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent, and defendable,” it said.As this matter is now before the courts, the Alberta RCMP said it is unable to provide further information.
A Red Deer Mountie who was bear sprayed while making a lawful arrest has found himself on the wrong end of assault charges in relation to an incident that occurred last spring.Constable Steven Cerant appeared in Red Deer court on Tuesday charged with a single count of assault after responding to a break and enter in the central Alberta city on March 3 2023.During the process of making the arrest, Const. Cerant and other accompanying officers were assaulted and sprayed with bear repellent, leading to an altercation where the suspect in question suffered undisclosed injuries.As a result of a statutory internal investigation, Const. Cerant was eventually charged on December 1 2023 and placed on administrative duties. According to a press release, he has three years service and his duty status will be reviewed once the criminal matter has been resolved.In the statement, the RCMP said the review considered the “totality of the incident, including the actions of the RCMP, the use of force during the incident and the duty status of the member.”“The Alberta RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts and it’s important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent, and defendable,” it said.As this matter is now before the courts, the Alberta RCMP said it is unable to provide further information.
