The RCMP logo at a news conference, in St. John's on June 24, 2023.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
A Newfoundland and Labrador judge on Friday dismissed an assault charge against an RCMP officer who was accused of using excessive force against a man whose volatile behaviour grounded an international flight.
Judge Rolf Pritchard said a video of the incident that circulated widely on social media in June 2023 left him uncertain about whether the unruly passenger was trying to hurt RCMP Const. Jeffrey Cormier, as the officer had testified.
“The situation (in the video) could be exactly as Const. Cormier described it,” Pritchard said as he delivered his verdict in provincial court. “It’s also possible that Const. Cormier’s is evidence was self-serving, and that excessive force was used. Problem is that I can’t tell from the video. I’m left with doubt about what happened.”
The court heard that the man aboard the Delta flight from Paris to Detroit was drunk and abusive, and that it took six people on the aircraft to hold him down. He broke free from restraints three times before the pilot made an emergency landing at the airport in Stephenville, N.L., on June 2, 2023.
That day, a video was posted to TikTok and other social media platforms appearing to show three officers escort a man off a plane with his hands restrained. They walk him to a waiting police SUV, and his head hits the vehicle before he is pushed inside.
The province’s police oversight agency, known as SIRT-NL, charged Cormier with assault in November.
Two officers in the video testified Tuesday that the man was resisting as they walked him toward the vehicle, stiffening his body and digging his feet into the ground so it was difficult to move him.
Pritchard said Friday that Cormier had testified that the man was throwing back his head and trying to kick the officer. That is not apparent in the video, the judge said, but he noted there are moments in the footage where police vehicles block the camera. In those moments, it is impossible to tell what is happening, and that may be when the passenger is being physically aggressive, as Cormier had said.
“Put another way, the Crown has not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the force used was excessive,” Pritchard said. “The charge is dismissed and Const. Cormier is free to go.”