By Kellah Lavoie

RCMP officer charged with assault

Nov 19, 2010 | 10:43 AM

An RCMP officer out of La Loche is in trouble with the law.

Const. Anthony Bear, 26, is charged with one count of assault causing bodily harm.

The incident took place in Melfort – on Nov. 6, Bear was off-duty when he allegedly assaulted the adult, male victim.

Sgt. Paul Dawson, RCMP F division media relations officer, said the accused has ties to Melfort, but there are not any details of the crime he could give out.

“The matter is before the court and that is the appropriate place where that discussion is going to occur,” he said adding he won’t give any further information about the victim.

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Dawson was unsure of how long Bear has been stationed in La Loche, but said he is likely still fairly new to the force, judging by his age.

He urges people not to jump to any conclusions on Bear’s guilt.

“These are allegations at this point, like any member of the public he is entitled to have his day in court and he is innocent until proven guilty,” he said.

“So I think what it shows is if police officer do things that result in criminal charges, criminal charges will be laid, just like any other member of the public.”

Bear is currently not on active duty, said Dawson.

At this point the RCMP is not conducting an internal code of conduct process, but that could change as the court process moves forward, he said.

Bear is currently not in custody. He appeared in provincial court yesterday and will be back before a judge on Dec. 14 in Melfort.

klavoie@panow.com