Sgt. Joel Laughlin, who has been on the job for two weeks, after serving in Northern Manitoba for almost 29 years, said he has received a complaint filed by Tyler McCallum complaint and will investigate it.

"I want to investigate it and talk to Mr. McCallum about it," he said.

In complaints filed with the Tuktoyaktuk detachment, Inuvik Staff Sgt. Mark Wharton and the RCMP Public Complaints Commission in Ottawa, McCallum has accused two officers of harassment and "excessive force." He has since moved to Inuvik, saying he fears the officers will come after him yet again.

McCallum said he has had ongoing run-ins with police since November, but only complained after he was arrested at 2:30 a.m. Jan. 1.

He was in a vehicle pulled over by police.

"They checked me and then I went back to the vehicle. Then I was getting smart because I was kind of getting fed up with (being searched)," he said.

McCallum was arrested and although he admits he pushed one RCMP officer and threatened another, said he was punched in the head and choked.

"Even though I did something wrong, what they did was worse to me. They are abusing their powers and are not supposed to do that," he said.

According to McCallum, several people witnessed what happened, including hamlet councillor Maureen Gruben, who said the incident was discussed in council and was "being dealt with."

Man admits to charges

The following day he was charged with two counts of assaulting a peace officer, two counts of uttering threats against a peace officer and another count of uttering threats. McCallum admits to one assault, when he pushed an officer and one threat against a peace officer. He is scheduled to appear in territorial court in Tuktoyaktuk on March 12.

Laughlin plans to meet with McCallum in Inuvik to discuss the complaint.

Laughlin said he is aware of strained relations between the RCMP and residents of Tuktoyaktuk and hopes to work with the community to patch things up.

"These are challenges that I want to go at head-on and see if there are any bridges that need to be gapped and work with the community.

"It's important that we work together to solve community problems. You can't rely on one body to do it.

"I believe that if we work together we can conquer absolutely any problem that comes about," he said.