Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Fort Smith (June 13/05) - An RCMP constable in Fort Smith has been charged with assault.

Const. Gary Scott Patterson is accused of assaulting a man in police custody in February.

The charge was announced in a June 9 news release from RCMP "G" Division in Yellowknife.

"Both legally and ethically, we are obliged to look into any complaints about the conduct of our members and we take these complaints seriously," said Sgt. Darcy Fleury, the division's spokesperson.

Fleury said available evidence indicated the RCMP should proceed with a criminal charge.

Attempts to reach Patterson for comment were unsuccessful.

The officer is scheduled to appear in Fort Smith territorial court on July 28.

Patterson has been a member of the RCMP for eight years, all in the NWT. He has served in Fort Smith since August of 2003.

In February, Fort Smith's Russell Sikyea, 21, complained of being assaulted by a police officer while in a detachment cell.

The incident was captured by a video camera in the cell.

Sikyea was fighting a forest fire and could not be reached for comment. In an earlier interview, he said when he was being held in the cell, a constable tried to convince him to plead guilty to a charge.

A couple of days later, in the early morning hours of Feb. 5, Sikyea said he knocked on the cell door to ask a guard to bring him a toothbrush, but no one answered.

Sikyea said two policemen came to his cell. The constable who had talked to him about the charge told him to stop messing around or he would be tied up.

Sikyea, who is awaiting trial on a charge of sexual assault, alleges the constable then slapped him in the head and choked him.

Sikyea's grandmother, Maggie Sikyea, said she is satisfied a charge has been laid against the constable.

"The law has got to be the law," she said. "And people are people and they should be treated like people."

Fleury said it is not often an RCMP officer is charged with a crime. Patterson is still serving in Fort Smith.

"Steps have been taken to ensure that the member does not have any contact with the complainant during the process, but he is continuing with his duties at this time," Fleury said.

Last year, Patterson was awarded the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal and Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation Insignia for his work in the Canadian Armed Forces.

The investigation was conducted by the RCMP's Major Crimes Unit from Yellowknife. Following its investigation, the file was sent to a Crown prosecutor in the Yukon for an opinion.

"Although we consult with the Crown on many matters, the law places the responsibility for laying a charge at the feet of the RCMP, and we make the decision based on the same factors that apply to any other person," Fleury said.