Regina police officer charged with assault

A 16-year veteran of the Regina Police Service has been charged with assault in connection with an incident that occurred April 21.

The RPS said Monday that Const. Roger Wiebe, 50, was on duty at the time of the incident. In light of the charge, he has been reassigned to administrative duties.

This is the first time Wiebe has been charged.

“We’re not hiding behind the fact that we ended up charging a police officer today and so we’re holding ourselves accountable on this. We attended to this call and so ultimately we have to be accountable for our actions — and we are,” Regina Police Chief Evan Bray told media Monday afternoon.

In a media release, the RPS said it received a complaint April 21 alleging excessive use of force by an officer against a member of the public earlier that day.

The release said the incident occurred on North Railway Street during an investigation into a person needing assistance. The incident is believed to have happened during the day.

The release said it is alleged a woman was assaulted by an officer who was responding to the incident. Bray said the woman was not arrested or detained during the incident.

“We don’t actually know the identity of the woman in this case. We’re still working through our investigative process to try and determine who she is,” he said.

“We aren’t 100 per cent conclusive as to whether the woman that was involved in this incident where, ultimately, charges were laid is the same person that was called in about by the member of the public.”

Bray said the incident in question involving the officer was brought to the attention of the RPS internally.

“This was actually brought up to us by another member of our police service with concern about this interaction and from that concern, we did some investigation where we learned some details about the call. We were able to discover some video we had from our own video source, our in-car camera,” Bray said.

“We started the investigation immediately upon getting that notice and we notified the Public Complaints Commission and, ultimately, we involved Sask Prosecutions as we always do in a matter that involves criminal charges. So the initial complaint came through our internal structure; another member of our police service brought it up to our attention.”

The investigation was led by the PCC and Crown prosecutors, who recommended charges be laid.

“Typically, police are able to lay charges without consulting with the Crown,” Bray said. “However, when it comes to a public complaint or an investigation involving a member, part of that accountability and transparency is to take that decision-making process out of the hands of the police and into the hands of the Crown.”

Bray said every year, police have thousands of interactions with the public and very few of them result in officers having to use force.

“Of the times that we do, it’s a very very small amount that end up being excessive force or something that requires an investigation and potentially charges,” Bray said.

Bray said the RPS has spoken with community members to discuss where possible gaps exist in service and how police can better interact with the public.

“We work extremely hard to build these good, solid relationships in our community,” he said. “So when something like this happens, I think you often have to understand it’s these important relationships that we’ve built that help us get through these.

“And it’s continuing to be transparent and accountable, holding ourselves to the highest of standards and ensuring the community knows that we will continue to do that.”

Wiebe is to make his first appearance in Regina Provincial Court on Aug. 11. An internal process under The Police Act also is to be conducted.