Manitoba’s police watchdog determined there is insufficient evidence to lay charges against an officer who was alleged to have pointed a gun at a teen girl.
According to the Independent Investigation Unit, in December 2015 the teen was being transported from Altona, Man., to Winnipeg by an Altona Police Service officer and a security guard. She alleged the officer and security guard took her from the vehicle and pointed a gun at her head.
The teen made the accusation in November 2018 during a subsequent encounter with Altona police.
The watchdog was notified and conducted an investigation, which involved interviewing the teen, officer, security guard, as well as three other officers who knew of the alleged incident.
The IIU’s civilian director Zane Tessler said in his report that the girl’s recollection of the incident remained largely consistent, though there were some discrepancies, such as whether it was the security guard, officer or both who pointed the gun.
“The mandate of IIU does not include authorizing criminal charges in the absence of cogent, trustworthy and sufficient evidence to support that decision,” he wrote.
