Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 26/9/2011 (3292 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two Manitoba RCMP officers have been found guilty of beating a handcuffed man following a dispute outside a rural bar.

Cpl. Jeffrey Thomas Moyse, 42, and Const. Trevor Kyle Ens, 31, had testified in their own defence earlier this year and denied the alleged October 2008 incident in Traverse Bay, about 120 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

But Queen’s Bench Justice Perry Schulman ruled Monday that both officers lacked credibility in rejecting their version of events and convicting them of assault. The judge said he favoured the evidence of Conley Papineau, 22, who told court he was punched in the face and stomach, kicked in the head and repeatedly thrown around by the accused after being confronted in a bar parking lot.

Papineau said Moyse and Ens then threw him in the back of their police car, stopped on the side of a remote highway and continued the attack. Papineau claims he was again punched and kicked and suffered a broken nose and several cuts and bruises. Papineau said he didn't go to a hospital for any treatment because he didn't want to spend "12 hours in a waiting room."

Moyse and Ens admit they questioned Papineau in the parking lot of the Birchwood Motor Hotel because they believed he might have been attempting to drive while drunk. They described Papineau as appearing "grossly intoxicated" and staggering as he made his way over to a parked vehicle, where a friend of his was sitting inside. Papineau, who was not convicted of any crime, admitted he had about three drinks that night on an empty stomach as doesn't believe he'd had anything to eat throughout the day.

Schulman said Monday the evidence doesn’t support the claims made by the officers. He said surveillance video of the parking lot showed Papineau displayed no signs of intoxication and appeared respectful of police who stopped him while he innocently was going to the vehicle simply to tell his friend they were going to stay a while.

Once they determined Papineau wasn't driving anywhere, Ens and Moyse say they returned his identification and were prepared to let him return to the bar. Both claim he was "upset, agitated and confrontational" and shouted an obscenity at Moyse before "throwing his shoulder" into the officer. Moyse said he responded to the contact by grabbing hold of Papineau. Both men then fell to the ground.

Ens testified he handcuffed Papineau once Moyse restrained him. They put Papineau in the back seat and drove him to the Lac du Bonnet RCMP detachment, where he was detained for several hours until he sobered up. During the drive, the officers say Papineau continued to be aggressive, including smashing his own head on the glass barrier in their cruiser car. He also claimed to be a member of a gang and made comments about causing harm to their family members, Moyse and Ens say.

The pair say any injuries Papineau suffered would be self-inflicted.

Moyse and Ens will be sentenced for their crime later this year. Their future job status has yet to be determined.

www.mikeoncrime.com