(CBC News) – Two RCMP officers have been found guilty of assault for beating a man outside a bar in Manitoba’s cottage country nearly three years ago.
Cpl. Jeffrey Moyse and Const. Trevor Ens were convicted on Monday of assaulting Conley Papineau in the Oct. 24, 2008, incident, which began in the parking lot of the Birchwood Hotel, a popular bar for cottagers around Victoria Beach.
Papineau, who at the time was a 19-year-old roofer from Pine Falls-Powerview area, testified earlier this year that he suffered a number of injuries, including a broken nose, in what he described as an unprovoked attack.
Papineau said he was knocked down, punched, handcuffed and thrown into a police car. He told the court he was struck again while he was being transported to an RCMP detachment.
Papineau testified that he did nothing to provoke the attack and he was never charged. Moyse and Ens were charged with assault in January 2010, following a lengthy investigation.
Moyse and Ens testified that they believed the man was intoxicated and intended to drive when they stopped him.
However, the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench ruled that security camera footage of the incident showed the victim had displayed no signs of intoxication and he appeared respectful of police.
The two Mounties are expected to be sentenced next month.
RCMP officials told CBC News that the two members are currently “non-operational” and have no contact with the public.
[Source]
RCMP officers convicted for 2008 assault
Mike McIntyre
Winnipeg Free Press
Sept 26, 2011
Two Manitoba RCMP officers have been found guilty of beating a handcuffed man following a dispute outside a rural bar.
Cpl. Jeffrey Thomas Moyse, 42, and Const. Trevor Kyle Ens, 31, had testified in their own defence earlier this year and denied the alleged October 2008 incident in Traverse Bay, about 120 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.
But Queen’s Bench Justice Perry Schulman ruled Monday that both officers lacked credibility in rejecting their version of events and convicting them of assault. The judge said he favoured the evidence of Conley Papineau, 22, who told court he was punched in the face and stomach, kicked in the head and repeatedly thrown around by the accused after being confronted in a bar parking lot.
Papineau said Moyse and Ens then threw him in the back of their police car, stopped on the side of a remote highway and continued the attack. Papineau claims he was again punched and kicked and suffered a broken nose and several cuts and bruises. Papineau said he didn’t go to a hospital for any treatment because he didn’t want to spend “12 hours in a waiting room.”
Moyse and Ens admit they questioned Papineau in the parking lot of the Birchwood Motor Hotel because they believed he might have been attempting to drive while drunk. They described Papineau as appearing “grossly intoxicated” and staggering as he made his way over to a parked vehicle, where a friend of his was sitting inside. Papineau, who was not convicted of any crime, admitted he had about three drinks that night on an empty stomach as doesn’t believe he’d had anything to eat throughout the day.
Schulman said Monday the evidence doesn’t support the claims made by the officers. He said surveillance video of the parking lot showed Papineau displayed no signs of intoxication and appeared respectful of police who stopped him while he innocently was going to the vehicle simply to tell his friend they were going to stay a while.
Once they determined Papineau wasn’t driving anywhere, Ens and Moyse say they returned his identification and were prepared to let him return to the bar. Both claim he was “upset, agitated and confrontational” and shouted an obscenity at Moyse before “throwing his shoulder” into the officer. Moyse said he responded to the contact by grabbing hold of Papineau. Both men then fell to the ground.
Ens testified he handcuffed Papineau once Moyse restrained him. They put Papineau in the back seat and drove him to the Lac du Bonnet RCMP detachment, where he was detained for several hours until he sobered up. During the drive, the officers say Papineau continued to be aggressive, including smashing his own head on the glass barrier in their cruiser car. He also claimed to be a member of a gang and made comments about causing harm to their family members, Moyse and Ens say.
The pair say any injuries Papineau suffered would be self-inflicted.
Moyse and Ens will be sentenced for their crime later this year. Their future job status has yet to be determined.