A Kelowna Mountie charged with assault in two separate incidents has been cleared in a third alleged attack, but his superiors are condemning his behaviour as "disgraceful."
RCMP Const. Geoff Mantler will not face any charges in the arrest of Jeremy Packer in August 2010, Supt. Bill McKinnon said at a press conference Thursday.
McKinnon said he received word from Crown counsel earlier this week that no charges will be filed.
But McKinnon said that an internal code of conduct review suggested McKinnon was guilty of "disgraceful conduct" in the arrest of Packer and the two other arrests in which he was charged.
"I believe Const. Mantler was at least 51 per cent at fault for this particular incident," McKinnon said, referring to the Packer arrest.
Packer had accused Mantler of breaking his tooth, cutting his face and giving him a black eye during the arrest
"The behaviour that Const. Mantler has displayed has fallen short of what I expect from our officers."
The code of conduct findings have now been forwarded to the provincial E-Division headquarters, and McKinnon has recommended that Mantler undergo a disciplinary adjudication.
Mantler is currently suspended from duty with pay, but the Kelowna detachment has recommended that his pay be stopped.
McKinnon said Thursday that national RCMP headquarters has not made a decision on that recommendation.
Packer was mistakenly arrested by Mantler and another officer when he was repossessing a vessel for non-payment issues in his work for a boat company. He said he was punched repeatedly even though he was cooperating with the officers.
Mantler is facing two counts of assault causing bodily harm for kicking a suspect in the face during an arrest earlier this year and another altercation in August.
Mantler was caught on video kicking 51-year-old Buddy Tavares as he knelt on the ground beside his truck during an arrest on Jan. 7.
In the video, the Mountie can be seen winding up for the kick. The force of the blow knocks Tavares to the ground, and when he is rolled over, there is a pool of blood beneath his face.
Police have not released details about the August incident.
