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HALIFAX, N.S. —

The province’s Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) has released reports in two recently concluded investigations.

The first relates to a female who alleged she was sexually assaulted by the male officer in a police car while being taken to police headquarters, and that he also cracked her head on the Plexiglas divider in the police car several times. It is alleged the assault took place in the vehicle while being transported to HRP cells.

The SiRT investigation found that the woman, was intoxicated, had gone to two restaurants yelling that she had been raped and assaulted.

Police responded and she went to a bathroom in a third restaurant, after which she was arrested for public intoxication.

She yelled that she was being raped and assaulted by the police officers as she was being arrested and led from the restaurant to a police car, allegations she continued to yell as she was being driven to police headquarters. She banged her head repeatedly off the Plexiglas divider herself, and then wrapped her head in the seat belt to the point the two officers had to stop the vehicle and untangle her, at which point she kicked and spit at them,

The erratic behaviour continued after she was booked at headquarters, still spitting at officers until they put her in a cell, where she laid down. She later told paramedics she had been sexually assaulted by the male officer in the back of the police car while it was stopped.

The woman gave a brief statement to the SiRT investigator that night before stopping the interview, but didn't answer subsequent messages about finishing the interview.

The SiRT report noted that video recordings, recorded radio transmissions and statements of witnesses at the restaurant and involved in the arrest all debunked the woman's claims and showed her to be an unreliable witness, and there were no grounds to lay charges.

The second report was an update to charges laid against Detective-Const. Joseph Farrow, a member of Halifax Regional Police who was charged on Sept, 19 of last year with one count each of sexual assault and unlawfully being in a dwelling.

SiRT began its investigation the day before after receiving a referral from Halifax RCMP, who had responded to a call about an unwanted person in a residence. Farrow was off-duty and in the home of the complainant, who was known to him.

On December 19, the Crown withdrew the original charges against Farrow and replaced them with a new charge of assault. Farrow pleaded guilty to the new charge and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 3.