Kelowna Mountie charged with two counts of assault after iPhone video of kick to head
Vancouver Sun March 24, 2011 4:59 PM
VANCOUVER — A Kelowna Mountie videotaped kicking a man in the face during an arrest has been charged with two counts of assault causing bodily harm in relation to two violent arrests.
Const. Geoffrey Mantler, 27, will make his first court appearance in a Kelowna courtroom on April 26, the Ministry of the Attorney-General's criminal justice branch announced in a statement Thursday.
One of the charges relates to an incident on Jan. 7, when Mantler was videotaped kicking Buddy Tavares, 51, in the head during an arrest.
The video — shot on an iPhone, uploaded to YouTube and broadcast widely by media outlets — helped spur a rally in Kelowna, where about 300 people expressed solidarity with Tavares and disappointment with the RCMP.
The second charge relates to an incident on Aug. 30 of which the complainant has not spoken about publicly, said Crown spokesman Neil MacKenzie.
"The charge assessment review of these two investigative reports was conducted in the Kamloops Regional Crown Counsel office," MacKenzie said. "Given that these matters are now before the Court it is not appropriate for the Branch to release additional information at this time."
A third incident remains under review by the Kamloops Regional Crown Counsel office: Jeremy Packer, who was repossessing a boat for non-payment of a repair bill, said Mantler punched him repeatedly during an arrest on Aug. 10 after misidentifying him as a boat thief. Packer said he did not resist arrest and did not try to flee.
Mantler has been suspended with pay since the video of the January incident was broadcast widely by media outlets.
發表於 2011-3-24 19:25
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