No charges for off-duty RCMP officer accused of making threats, racist comment in road rage incident: IIU

A Manitoba RCMP officer will not face charges after he was accused of making threats and making a racist comment during a road rage incident while off-duty last year, Manitoba’s police watchdog says.

In June 2023, Winnipeg police contacted the Manitoba Independent Investigative Unit — which investigates all serious matters involving police — after a man reported receiving a death threat while driving in the city’s northeast earlier that month. .

The man, who was in the Range Rover with his wife, mother-in-law and two children, said the incident began after he was driving slowly while turning right from Watt Street onto the Nairn Flyover and noticed a gray Jeep brake. with force directly behind him.

The Jeep driver stopped next to the Range Rover and signaled the man to stop, but he ignored the Jeep driver, according to the final report of the IIU in the incident, which was concluded in August and published on Monday.

The jeep driver called the other man an “idiot” and told him to pull over, according to the report written by IIU civilian director Roxanne Gagné.

The man said his family was scared and asked him not to pull over, her report says. He slowed down to distance himself from the Jeep, but approached again when he realized he needed the license plate to report the incident.

The Jeep driver put his arm out the window and gave the man the middle finger as he approached, the report says.

When the vehicles ended up next to each other again in traffic, the driver of the jeep yelled, “Pull over, you son of a bitch, I’m going to kill you,” and also yelled, “I’m going to send you back where you came from,” , the driver of the Range Rover told the investigative unit during an interview.

He waved his phone to show the Jeep driver that he was calling 911, before the Jeep made an abrupt left turn as they approached the intersection of Panet Road and Regent Avenue W. , says the report.

‘Defensive’ in interview with Winnipeg police

A Winnipeg police officer assigned to investigate the report was also interviewed by the investigative unit.

After interviewing the driver of the Range Rover, the officer identified the registered owner of the Jeep and went to his home to speak with him, but did not state the man’s Charter rights before speaking, the report notes. The officer did not know at that time that the man was an RCMP officer.

The man was “defensive and frequently interrupted (the Winnipeg police officer) during the argument,” the officer told IIU. The man claimed he told the driver of the Range Rover to pull over because a piece of metal was dragging underneath the vehicle.

He also denied making any racist comments, saying he has friends in India and thought the driver of the Range Rover was white.

The driver of the Range Rover, after learning of the other man’s complaint, showed his vehicle to officers, who noted that it appeared to be in good condition and had nothing visibly hanging from it.

After searching a police records management system the day after interviewing the Jeep owner, the investigating officer discovered he was an RCMP officer and referred the matter to his supervisor. The Independent Investigative Unit was then notified.

Gagné determined it was in the public interest to investigate. The IIU reviewed audio of the 911 call, police dispatch audio and notes from the Winnipeg police officer who investigated the report.

The RCMP officer was not interviewed by the IIU.

Unable to identify driver

The investigative unit interviewed the driver of the Range Rover and asked him to identify the driver of the Jeep from a photo lineup. The man was unable to do so, the IIU report says.

His wife, who was also interviewed as part of the IIU investigation, supported their claims that the jeep driver had made death threats and made a racist comment towards them during the incident.

The IIU also reviewed footage from a gas station on Regent Avenue W. that showed the Jeep and Range Rover on the date of the incident. However, the footage did not show who was driving each vehicle, the report says.

City of Winnipeg traffic footage was not available because investigators requested it after the seven-day retention period, as the IIU was not informed of the incident until 10 days after it occurred.

The investigative unit sent its file to the Manitoba Public Prosecutor’s Office for an opinion on the case.

Crown prosecutors said they would not authorize charges against the RCMP officer, noting “issues of admissibility” in the RCMP officer’s statement to Winnipeg police.

Prosecutors said they were not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the driver of the Jeep, and “were not convinced that there was a reasonable likelihood of conviction.”

Given all the evidence, the IIU said it is not making recommendations against the RCMP officer, and the investigation is closed.