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

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Peggy

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

In June 2023, Winnipeg police contacted Manitoba’s Independent Investigation 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 Range Rover with his wife, mother-in-law and two children, said the incident began after he drove slowly while making a right-hand turn off Watt Street onto the Nairn Overpass, and noticed a grey Jeep brake hard directly behind him.

The driver of the Jeep drove up beside the Range Rover and motioned for the man to pull over, but he ignored the Jeep driver, according to the IIU’s final report into the incident, which was completed in August and published on Monday.

The Jeep driver called the other man a “f–ing idiot” and told him to pull over, according to the report written by the IIU’s civilian director, Roxanne Gagné.

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

The driver of the Jeep stuck his arm out of his 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 Jeep driver yelled, “Pull over, you motherf–ker, I’ll kill you,” and also yelled, “I’ll send you where you came from,” the Range Rover driver told the investigative unit during an interview.

He waved his phone to show the Jeep driver 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 Winnipeg police interview

A Winnipeg police officer who was assigned to investigate the complaint was also interviewed by the investigation unit.

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

The man was “defensive and often interrupted [the Winnipeg police officer] during their discussion,” the officer told the IIU. The man claimed he told the Range Rover driver to pull over because a piece of metal was dragging underneath the vehicle.

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

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

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

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

The RCMP officer was not interviewed by the IIU.

Unable to identify driver

The investigative unit interviewed the Range Rover driver, and asked him to identify the Jeep driver 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, backed up his claims that the Jeep driver had made death threats and a racist remark against them during the incident.

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

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

The investigative unit sent its file to the Manitoba Prosecution Service for an opinion on the case.

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

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

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