Manitoba's police watchdog probing whether Brandon police officer mislead investigators

Manitoba's police watchdog is looking into whether or not a Brandon police officer misled investigators during a criminal investigation involving two police officers at a bar in 2014.

The Independent Investigation Unit said it was notified of the situation by Brandon police in early December.

The initial investigation and subsequent charges stemmed from an incident at a Brandon bar in 2014. At the time, a man alleged that he had been assaulted by a Brandon police officer at a local bar in November2014.

Winnipeg police were called in to investigatethe complaint in January 2015 as it predated the creation of the IIU.

Sgt. DallasLockhart was charged in August 2016 with one count of attempting to obstruct justice and one count of obstructing a police officer. Both charges against him were stayed in late 2017.

The conduct of Lockhart and another officer Const. Shane Stephenson wasbrought into questionin connection withtwo separate assault investigations one from July 2014, the otherfrom November 2014.

Police said at the time that Stephenson and two other members of the Brandon Police Servicewere looking into reports of an assault and a disturbance complaint that took place at a hotel and bar in Brandon.The two men who werein custody at the time were connected with those complaints.

Brandon police said at the time that the person who came forward with the assaultcomplaint against the officer"had a family relationship with another Brandon Police Service member."

Stephenson was also subsequently charged in August 2016 with one count of obstructing justice, but it was stayed in late 2017after a judge found a statement made by Stephenson during the investigation was inadmissible.

The IIU said Wednesday that BPS conducted an internal review of the file and, as a result, notified the IIU that one of their officers may have misled the WPS investigators.

Although the WPS investigation and alleged criminal conduct predates the IIU, it said due to the recent discovery of relevant information by BPS, the IIU civilian director determined it was in the public interest for the agency to investigate.

The IIU investigates all serious incidents involving police officers in Manitoba, whether occurring on- or off-duty.