Kelowna Mountie in court on second unrelated charge

KELOWNA — An RCMP officer already on trial for allegedly assaulting a bar patron has made a court appearance on an unrelated charge of running a red light and hitting a vehicle in Kelowna.

Court has heard that Const. Grant Jacobson, 32, was not on an urgent call as he drove his cruiser to the West Kelowna detachment in October 2013.

A father and son riding in a car that was struck at an intersection had minor injuries.

The pair testified they did not hear a siren, though some witnesses said Jacobson had his emergency lights and siren activated.

The case is expected to continue at a later date as Jacobson prepares to return to court on July 7 for the third day of his assault trial.

Court heard two weeks ago that John McCormick, a 61-year-old regular at a pub, was unco-operative at closing time last June.

Jacobson was one of three Mounties encouraging people to leave.

A video camera recorded Jacobson in uniform as he spoke to McCormick.

In the recording the pair start struggling and Jacobson pulls McCormick’s arm behind his back.

In video shown in court, McCormick is seen resisting. Jacobson begins punching him with his right fist and wrestles him to the patio floor.

He appears to punch McCormick at least three times and knees him in the chest before sitting on him.

Jacobson has testified that he was defending himself as McCormick tried to reach for his gun.

McCormick denied he touched the gun and accused Jacobson of throwing him on to the concrete and punching him three or four times without cause.