SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Police in Medicine Hat, Alta. have cleared Yellowknife RCMP of any wrongdoing after a man was injured during a drug raid late last year.

Yellowknife RCMP was cleared following an external investigation by the Medicine Hat police after a suspect was injured after jumping off a fourth floor balcony Dec. 2013. - NNSL file photo

Sgt. Jason Graham of the Medicine Hat police said a man suffered serious spinal and possible leg injuries on Dec. 6, 2013 when he jumped from a fourth floor balcony in an apparent effort to evade officers.

He said it happened as the Mounties were conducting one of several residential search warrants in the city.

The illicit drug investigation was dubbed "Project Goblin" by RCMP.

"The man was medevaced to hospital in Edmonton with serious but non-life threatening injuries," Graham said.

He did not have the man's name nor the location where the incident occurred.

"I believe he is still before the courts so we won't be providing any further information on him or his charges," Graham said.

The Medicine Hat Police Service was called in as a preemptive measure by Yellowknife RCMP, Graham said.

"There was never any complaint lodged by anyone in regards to this man's injury," he said. "We were simply contacted and asked to investigate in an effort to ensure the public's confidence and for transparency reasons."

RCMP contacted the police in Medicine Hat roughly five days after the man was injured.

Graham said his investigation was actually completed this past summer, but the findings were never released to the public by him or RCMP until now.

Meanwhile, RCMP confirmed Wednesday that Medicine Hat police have been called in to investigate an alleged assault by an RCMP officer on a 71-year-old woman in Fort Resolution.

According to Margo Edjericon, her mother Loretta Edjericon was elbowed in the face by an RCMP officer Sept. 20 after he'd entered her home, looking for another woman who had allegedly breached her probation conditions.

In an e-mail Wednesday, RCMP spokesperson Const. Elenore Sturko stated the external investigation follows a public complaint lodged in Fort Resolution and the completion of an internal investigation.

She stated the internal investigation was conducted by an unnamed RCMP staff sergeant who was supported by G Division Major Crimes Unit.

This process is in place to ensure transparency in the investigation, according to Sturko. RCMP understands the public requires transparency so that their trust in the RCMP as upholders of the law remains intact, stated Sturko.

The officer, whom the Mounties refuse to identify, remains on duty and the public will be updated once the Mounties receive the independent file review from the Medicine Hat police, Sturko stated.