SARAH BOESVELD Globe and Mail Update Published on Monday, Mar. 22, 2010
Emergency 911 calls aren’t uncommon in Cadotte Lake, a tiny hamlet in northern Alberta. And when several came in from the same address early Sunday morning, two RCMP officers from nearby Peace River went to investigate. They didn’t expect to become the party in distress – swarmed and severely beaten in the very home to which they were called. The weekend beating of two well-known Mounties came as a shock to the 80-person community bridged by two aboriginal settlements. Three local men were arrested, and the RCMP has launched a review into whether protocol was followed to the letter that night.
At about 3:20 a.m., officers headed off to the home 90 kilometres northeast of Peace River. They were told a man was fighting with some of the 15 or 20 occupants of the home, said Corporal Wayne Oakes, the media relations officer with the RCMP’s E Division. When they got there, the male and female Mounties with three years of service between them were invited inside. They quickly recognized one of the occupants – 30-year-old Patrick Ramsey Carifelle – as wanted on an outstanding warrant for obstructing a peace officer. As they tried to arrest him, investigators say the pair was swarmed, kicked and punched repeatedly. They blasted the attackers with pepper spray and tasered them in self-defence, according to the RCMP. They called for backup at 3:32 a.m. Brass knuckles, a prohibited weapon, were used in the assault, investigators say.
The RCMP also say the taser was ripped from the officers’ grip, and the assailants tried to take their pistols. The weapons did not go off and investigators later found the taser nearby. The officers were rushed to Peace River Community Hospital. The male officer was treated for cuts, scrapes, swelling and a broken nose. The female officer had to be airlifted to an Edmonton hospital to treat broken bones in her face and other assault-related injuries. Three men were arrested and remain in custody. Alcohol was a factor, police say, and the investigation is ongoing.
The officers, who cannot be identified, are both eager to return to work, said Cpl. Oakes. A review of their actions is under way.
No comments:
Post a Comment