Investigation underway after deletion of video showing arrest by RCMP

An investigation is underway after video of an arrest, recorded on a cellphone later seized by RCMP in Meadow Lake, was discovered to have been deleted.

Members of the Meadow Lake RCMP detachment responded on Friday around 4 a.m. to an altercation at a home in Meadow Lake, where a woman was found outside, suffering from minor injuries, RCMP said in a news release.

The two responding Mounties suffered “minor injuries during an altercation” with a man at the home, but did not require medical treatment, the release said.

Following what RCMP called “the initial incident” with the man at the home, police at the scene “learned the altercation between the accused and members was recorded on a cellphone by a witness.

“The phone was seized and it is alleged an altercation occurred between the witness and one of the members,” RCMP said in the release.

“While in the care of the RCMP, it was later discovered the video had been deleted.”

A separate RCMP investigation is taking place to “examine the circumstances surrounding the deletion of the video and alleged altercation between the witness and member,” the news release said.

RCMP have asked the Ministry of Justice to put in place an independent observer “to assess the impartiality of the investigation.”

The man involved in the initial incident with RCMP appeared Monday in Meadow Lake provincial court, where he was charged with assault, two counts of resisting arrest and two counts of assaulting a police officer. He was remanded until his next scheduled appearance in August.

RCMP declined to provide further details, saying “this is now an ongoing investigation.”