Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 16/05) - Seven months after a Yellowknife RCMP constable was accused of attacking a bar patron, justice officials still have not decided whether the officer will face charges.

Supt. Rick Roy said police are awaiting the final report from a Whitehorse Crown prosecutor who oversaw an investigation into a late night altercation between Const. Scot Newberry and a then 23-year-old Yellowknife man.

"We are in a holding pattern," Roy said Monday afternoon.

The prosecutor will decide whether there is enough evidence to charge Newberry, who has been on "administrative duties" since March when a territorial court judge accused him of assault.

The pronouncement came after Newberry testified during the assault and resist arrest trial of Devon Herback, who was involved in a melee with the officer outside the Raven bar, Oct. 30, 2004.

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.

Herback was acquitted on both counts.

The remarks prompted an internal probe headed by an officer from outside the Northwest Territories. Police announced in May the footwork on the investigation was finished. Roy described the probe as "very comprehensive."

This summer, RCMP brass said a final decision would likely be made before the fall - a timetable that is now well behind schedule.

Comparisons between the Newberry case and another incident from Fort Smith where an officer was charged with assault four months after a suspect was beaten in cells, are problematic, Roy said.

In the Fort Smith case, the incident was caught on tape - a factor that probably led to an earlier decision from justice officials, Roy said.

"Each investigation is different," Roy said. "A picture is worth a thousand words."

The RCMP are committed to an objective investigation and would notify the media when a decision was made, Roy said.