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Officer charged with assault named at 1st court appearance

Jan 16, 2015 | 5:32 AM

Allegations of a Prince Albert officer misusing a weapon have landed in court.

Cst. Susan Noel Snell found herself on the other side of the law on Dec. 30 when she was charged with assault with pepper spray and put on administrative leave with pay.

Snell’s attendance was waived for her first scheduled court appearance on Wednesday. Her lawyer, Aaron Fox, addressed Judge S. Carter over the phone at Prince Albert Provincial Court.

The charge relates to a July 2014 incident involving a man being held in the Prince Albert Police Service’s (PAPS) detention area.

Snell – a 19-year member of the service – has a long history in the city. The Métis police officer graduated from the Gabriel Dumont Institute’s Human Justice Program in the 1990s and started with PAPS in August 1995.

She was the first PAPS member assigned to its Historical Case Unit in October of 2008, which was created to work in conjunction with the Major Crime Unit.

She was working as a patrol officer when the charge was laid.

What happened in the cell block in July is still unclear, but it’s been investigated by a separate provincial body.

Fox said he has yet to review the evidence provided to him, and set the matter three weeks ahead.

claskowski@panow.com

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk