Police officers won't face assault charges
Two Calgary police officers accused of beating up a Salvadoran immigrant will not face criminal charges, a decision Latin community members are calling a whitewash.
The Edmonton Crown prosecutor's office, which handled the investigation, said Friday it decided there was not enough evidence to lay charges against the officers.
Calgary Deputy Police Chief Peter Copple said the department received written notification from the prosecutors' office which stated "there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction against any police officer in this case; therefore, no criminal charges are warranted."
The decision left leaders of the Latin American Community Association, who rallied behind Juan Domingo Melendez-Hernandez after the Aug. 17 incident, shaking their heads in disbelief.
"Just basically what we have here is that the police and the Crown prosecutor's office have rubber-stamped a whitewash -- although I can't say that it wasn't unexpected," said association spokesman Don Wise.
Melendez-Hernandez said he wasn't surprised either.
"I am feeling so disappointed . . . I really don't believe in the police investigating themselves."
He said he is still recovering from the injuries he sustained in the alleged attack and has an appointment with a neurologist next month.
The association's board members held an emergency meeting Friday to discuss what the group's next move will be.
Wise said there are plans to appeal the decision to the Law Enforcement Review Board, a civilian tribunal which holds public meetings.
"I still say he is an innocent victim of police abuse and we are
trying to get the charges against Juan dismissed."
The group hasn't abandoned an earlier plan to file a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
Melendez-Hernandez, 37, said he was arrested while walking along 3rd Street S.E. near his Victoria Park home when two undercover officers stopped him and tried to arrest him.
The officers were part of a sting operation targeting "johns" that prey on prostitutes. He claims he never saw a police badge, so he fought back against the officers, which led to the charges being laid.
The recent SAIT graduate is scheduled to be in court next June 15 for trial on charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. He was never charged with any prostitution-related crimes.
The two officers will still undergo an internal police investigation to see if they breached any other policing rules.
"They are obviously pleased that there are no criminal charges against them," said Sgt. Brad Kuryk of the department's professional standards office who contacted the two unidentified officers.
"However, the stress of the internal investigation can be just as bad as what they have already undergone."
The internal report could recommend the officers be reprimanded, suspended, fired or completely exonerated.
The professional standards department handled 1,100 citizen complaints against police this year. Only 34, including the Melendez-Hernandez case, led to an official investigation. In 1999, the unit conducted 56 formal investigations.