A Nova Scotia RCMP officer has been charged with assault.
In a news release on Wednesday, the province’s Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) announced Const. Aaron Brown was charged on Monday.
SIRT’s report said the organization received a call from the RCMP on February 2 about an incident, alleged to have occurred on January 26, involving a member of the RCMP’s Northeast Nova District.
“Information obtained during the investigation included a statement from the [affected person], statements from eight police officers, and five civilian witnesses. The notes of three police officers and a video were also reviewed and considered,” the SIRT report said.
“This investigation has led to the conclusion that there are sufficient grounds to lay two charges against Constable Aaron Brown.”
Brown, 41, is expected to appear in Sydney provincial court on May 17.
It’s not the officer’s first time facing an assault charge. In 2012, Brown, then based in Baddeck, was found not guilty of assaulting his girlfriend, according to a story by Craig Babstock in the Cape Breton Post. Babstock reported that after hearing from three witnesses at trial, the Crown withdrew its case:
The three witnesses were all present when the incident occurred early in the morning of July 31, 2011 at a campground near the Magnetic Hill concert site after a U2 show. While their stories of a woman calling out for help and suffering injury were consistent, one of the witnesses indicated the woman may have started the altercation.
Brown’s laywer, David Bright, said his client acted in self defence, and he was “pleasantly surprised” the trial ended so quickly.
A 2013 newsletter from the Mounted Police Members’ Legal Fund includes a letter from Brown and his girlfriend to the secretary and treasurer of the fund:
Over the past year my spouse and I have been subjected to a significant amount of anxiety and financial stress related to a malicious prosecution. We wish to issue a sincere thank you to the Executive and the Fund for choosing to reimburse our out of pocket legal expenses to fight against this malicious prosecution.
Felix Cacchione, SIRT director, said Wednesday the new charges are not related to a domestic call.
Subscribe to the Halifax Examiner
We have many other subscription options available, or drop us a donation. Thanks!