The agency that investigates police in Manitoba is looking into an allegation that an RCMP officer in Pukatawagan intentionally struck a dog with their police vehicle.
The incident occurred on around 3:40 p.m. Jan. 6. RCMP Manitoba North District officers were advised of the incident on Jan. 7 and began investigating. Efforts to locate the dog were unsuccessful.
The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU) was advised of the incident on Jan. 11 and the IIU civilian director decided it is in the public interest for the agency to investigate.
The officer involved has not returned to the community and has been assigned to administrative duties, RCMP said in a press release. A Code of Conduct investigation of the matter was launched as well.
“We take this incident very seriously and support the IIU’s investigation,” said Manitoba RCMP. “The RCMP has dogs that are an important part of our investigative teams and many of our officers work with rescue groups to help animals find homes."
Witnesses or anyone who has video footage of the incident can call the IIU at 1-800-667-6060.
The IIU investigates allegations of misconduct by on- or off-duty police officers in Manitoba.
