SIRT investigating RCMP's handling of passenger kicked off Delta flight in Stephenville

Newfoundland and Labrador's serious-incident response teamhas launched an investigation after a video showed police officers pushing a man into the side of a police cruiser at StephenvilleDymondInternational Airport on Friday.

The man was on board a Delta Airlines flight from Paris to Detroit when it had to make an emergency landing for what the airline called an unruly passenger.

Video taken from outside the airport's chain-link fence shows three officers escorting him down the stairs from the planeto the tarmac where an RCMP cruiser is waiting.

As they get close to the cruiser, the man begins leaning backand slowing down. The officers on either side of him pull him forward, with theofficer to his left pushing the man's head and upper bodyinto the side of the cruiser. The same officerrepeatedsimilarmotionsthreemore times with the man hitting up against the car.

SIRT-NL director Michael King said the RCMP notifiedhis office on Wednesdaythat a "potential serious incident" happened during the arrest. King wouldn't comment onwhetherthe incident he's investigating is the sequence in the videoor anything that happened before or after.

While details are sparse, SIRT defines a serious incident as"those involving serious injury, death, sexual offence, domestic violence or any matter of significant public interest arising from the actions of a police officer in Newfoundland and Labrador."

The man has been charged with unlawfully engaging in behaviour that endangers safety by interfering with duty of crew and unlawfully engaging in behaviour that endangers safety by lessening ability of crew to perform duty. He's due in court Friday.

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