A Kelowna RCMP officer will stand trial for one of two assault charges against him in May 2022.
Const. Siggy Pietrzak was charged with assault in April 2021, in relation to his arrest of a suspected impaired driver on May 30, 2020.
Two people caught the alleged offence on camera. Footage shows Pietrzak arrive at a scene where two other officers are attempting to apprehend a suspect, rush towards the man and punch him several times.
The alleged victim, Tyler Russell, filed a lawsuit against Pietrzak. The Attorney General of Canada, also named in that lawsuit, denied Pietrzak used excessive force.
The RCMP maintains the suspect was uncooperative with police and was arrested for allegedly obstructing a police officer.
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In June, Pietrzak was charged with assault in relation to a separate offence alleged to have happened between May 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2017, in West Kelowna. The B.C. Prosecution Service marked the file as an intimate partner violence case.
Pietrzak remains suspended with pay as the RCMP’s code of conduct investigation continues.
His trial is scheduled to begin on May 24, 2022, nearly two years after the alleged offence.
READ MORE: Kelowna Mountie charged with assault for caught-on-camera violent arrest
READ MORE: Kelowna Mountie charged with assault, again
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