Conditional discharge for officer who hit suspect

There will be no criminal record for a Saskatchewan RCMP officer who hit a man in the face, slammed him against a police car and choked him during an arrest in Warman last year.

On Wednesday, Cpl. Dean Flaman received a conditional discharge, meaning he won’t have a criminal record if he abides by court-ordered conditions for 12 months. Those conditions include 250 hours of community service and apologizing to the victim, 19-year-old Trent Blackbird.

Flaman, 46, pleaded guilty to assaulting Blackbird in the early morning of Feb. 24, 2016. Court heard it happened while another officer, Const. Bill Rowley, was about to handcuff Blackbird, suspected of breaking into vehicles.

According to Rowley, Flaman yelled “What the (expletive) are you doing in my (expletive) town?” before punching Blackbird twice in the face. Flaman continued to push and slam Blackbird, whose pants had fallen down and were acting like “shackles” when he fell.

Flaman thought Rowley needed his help and hit the man once with an open hand before putting him in a chokehold that he admitted was “excessive,” defence lawyer Brad Mitchell said.

Crown prosecutor Bill Burge argued Flaman should have a criminal record because he was in a position of trust and any use of force was unnecessary considering another officer was handling the situation. However, Burge did not argue for a jail sentence.

“The options did include, legally, jail. In his situation, I guess given his previous good character and support he had from the community, it seemed to me not to be a realistic option for the court,” Burge said following the sentencing decision.

Judge Stephen Carter ruled a conditional discharge is proportionate to the offence and degree of responsibility and not contrary to the public interest.

Flaman, a 16-year RCMP member, was suspended with pay after he was charged in August 2016. He was reinstated in April after receiving internal discipline that included a two-week suspension without pay, a written reprimand that will go on his professional record and the inability to apply for a promotion for at least two years.

Mitchell argued it would be more likely that Flaman would keep his job if he received a conditional discharge.

“I think it’s pretty clear from the letters of support and the facts of this case that this was an isolated incident. This is a good police officer who had a day that I don’t think anyone would deal with very well and led to him acting the way he did that night.”

A psychological report determined Flaman’s actions were linked to past family violence and post-traumatic stress disorder.

During Tuesday’s sentencing arguments, Mitchell said his client had dealt with two extremely traumatic incidents in the days leading up to the assault. One was a horrific car crash and the other involved witnessing a suicide 45 minutes before heading out to Warman.

Mitchell said officers are usually given an opportunity to debrief after a serious incident. He said he’s not sure why that didn’t happen.