Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 27/05) - Police say it will likely be a couple of weeks before an internal probe into assault allegations against a Yellowknife officer is completed.

The constable at the centre of the allegations, Scot Newberry, remains on desk duty while the long-running investigation enters its fifteenth week.

"The matter is not quite complete (though) it is almost there," RCMP Sgt. Mike Payne said Friday afternoon. "We would like it done ASAP so we can move on with things. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will have that."

Police launched a criminal investigation last April into a scuffle outside of a downtown nightclub involving Newberry.

The officer testified during the March trial of Devon Herback, a 23-year-old charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. During an altercation with Newberry outside of the Raven Pub, Herback was knocked unconscious and broke his leg.

In a harshly worded decision, territorial court Judge Brian Bruser accused Newberry of using "excessive force" during the scuffle.

"(Herback) was enjoying the protection afforded by our laws and while under the umbrella of the rule of law, Constable Newberry attacked him," Bruser wrote.

The comments sparked an internal investigation headed by an RCMP officer from outside of the territories. Insp. Greg Morrow, who was overseeing the case, said in early May "most of the footwork" had been done on the file.

Once the investigation is complete RCMP brass will review its conclusions and - likely with input from the Crown attorney's office - decide whether charges are justified, Payne said.