Assault charges stayed against Manitoba Mountie

Assault charges against a Manitoba RCMP constable have been stayed after the Crown determined there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute him.

Const. Erik Grimolfson was charged with assault and assault causing bodily harm in 2022, after two separate incidents alleged to have happened the previous year.

On March 1, both charges were stayed after the Crown told Manitoba provincial court Judge Keith Eyrikson it had concluded that "while it is always in the public interest to take allegations of misconduct seriously," after careful review there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction in the case.

A provincial spokesperson said in an email on Thursday the charges were stayed "because the evidence did not meet the charging standard to continue a prosecution in light of the burden of proof being beyond a reasonable doubt."

The province has a year from the date a charge was stayed to reinstate it.

The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba announced the charges against Grimolfson in April 2022, in connection with an alleged incident in Selkirk and another in Winnipeg in 2021.

The police watchdog is tasked with looking into all serious incidents involving on- and off-duty police in the province.

The alleged Selkirk incident stemmed from a police call involving an on-duty officer in July 2021, when officers arrested a man in connection with a domestic assault.

While the man was going through the release process, he told officers he needed medical attention, the watchdog said at the time.

Because the man was still in custody, police went with him in an ambulance. Officers alleged the man hit one of them and a fight ensued. X-rays later showed the man had a broken rib.

The alleged Winnipeg incident was connected to a collision near Mayfair Avenue and Queen Elizabeth Way in November 2021 involving an off-duty officer and another person.

The off-duty officer didn't stay at the crash scene and failed to exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver, the unit said at the time.

In both cases, the police watchdog's civilian director concluded there were sufficient grounds to authorize charges.