REGINA -- A Regina police corporal has been found not guilty of assaulting a 42-year-old man in 2018.
Cpl. Colin Magee received the not guilty verdict in court on Thursday afternoon.
He was accused of assaulting 42-year-old Lucien Gaudette when he was leaving police custody on Sept. 26, 2018.
He appeared in court on Dec. 18, 2019 on the charges. Magee testified on the stand on that day that he complied with use of police force.
Video shown to court in December showed Magee explaining the conditions of release to Gaudette while the man collected his belongings. The video showed Gaudette walking away from Magee, then returning and beginning to sign documents. Magee told court in December that he wanted to make sure Gaudette understood what documents he was signing and asked the man to drop the pen twice. The video showed Gaudette holding the pen close to his hip, using his body as a shield so Magee couldn’t take the pen from him. At that point, the video showed Magee bring Gaudette to the ground for several seconds. The men exchanged words and then Gaudette rolled onto his stomach and stood up before returning to the desk and signing the documents.
Judge Patrick Reid said in his decision on Thursday that Magee felt threatened and protecting himself. He added that Magee wasn’t using excessive force.
