By Canadian Press

It makes no sense for Mountie facing charges to be on the streets: criminologist

Jun 25, 2020 | 2:29 PM

A criminologist with Mount Royal University in Calgary says it’s ridiculous that a Mountie facing criminal charges was working on the streets during the violent arrest of a prominent First Nations chief.

Charges were dropped Wednesday against Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, but his lawyer revealed the same day that one of the officers involved in the arrest is to go to trial in September for an off-duty assault.

Const. Simon Seguin faces charges of assault, mischief and unlawfully being in a dwelling house.

Alberta RCMP has confirmed it was aware of the charges and a spokesman says the officer’s duty status would have been based on an assessment by his managers.

Kelly Sundberg, an associate professor in the department of economics, justice and policy studies, says he wouldn’t trust an officer who was facing criminal charges to come to his house if he needed help.

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Sundberg says he’s concerned that the RCMP never publicly revealed the charges and that police need to be objective, transparent and accountable in order to maintain public trust.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 25, 2020

The Canadian Press