External review clears RCMP over injured YK prisoner

An external investigation found Yellowknife RCMP acted with “necessary and reasonable” force during an incident which injured a prisoner in 2017, police said on Thursday.

On July 18, 2017, a male prisoner – who has not been named – received two fractured ribs while in custody and under RCMP supervision.

In Thursday’s statement, police said the man “became uncooperative, resisting the RCMP member’s efforts to lodge him in the cell block” at the time the injuries were sustained.

The same prisoner was charged with assaulting a police officer, uttering threats, and breach of probation, RCMP added.

External investigations are mandatory when someone is injured while in custody. The Edmonton Police Service completed the investigation and, according to a summary of the Edmonton report provided by NWT RCMP, “found the officers were clearly lawfully placed and acting properly in the execution of their duties.”

No copy of the investigation report was made public.

“There was no evidence to support any inference that police engaged in any unlawful or unreasonable conduct that would give rise to an offence. The force used was necessary and reasonable in all circumstances,” NWT RCMP stated on Thursday, calling the report “thorough and well-documented.”