Conviction won’t automatically cost officer his job
A Carcross RCMP officer has pleaded guilty to assault.
A Carcross RCMP officer has pleaded guilty to assault.
Const. Jason Potter, 38, entered the plea Wednesday morning in territorial court.
This was only his second court appearance since he was charged June 17.
Potter was represented yesterday by Vancouver lawyer Nicholas Weigelt.
An agreed statement of facts has not yet been filed in court.
That’s expected to happen when Potter is sentenced on Oct. 28.
Yukon RCMP Staff Sgt. Brad Kaeding told the Star this morning Potter is still on administrative duties at the Carcross detachment, but is currently off-duty on medical leave.
Potter also faces a charge of uttering threats, which he has not entered a plea to.
The charges came after an incident in the back of an RCMP vehicle the night of May 15.
A Carcross man was under arrest and inside the vehicle when Potter assaulted him. He also allegedly uttered a death threat to him, according to court files.
The victim, Duke Beattie, was charged with threatening to cause bodily harm to Potter, Potter’s wife and a second officer on scene, Const. Dan Rouleau, as well as resisting arrest.
Those charges were later withdrawn.
No details have been provided by police nor presented in court about what the assault involved.
Potter’s conviction doesn’t automatically mean he’ll lose his job, Kaeding said.
“It’s dependent on each individual set of circumstances ... There’s a general range of options that could be undertaken.”
That range includes anything from a reprimand to the loss of pay to dismissal.
The punishment is determined after an internal RCMP code of conduct investigation, Kaeding said.
This process considers aggravating and mitigating factors, much like a court does.
The investigation into Potter’s conduct is not yet complete, but Kaeding said he expects it will be concluded before the sentencing in October.
After the incident on May 15, Potter reported it to the Carcross detachment commander, which prompted an investigation by the Yukon RCMP Major Crimes Unit.
In a news release at the time, Yukon RCMP said it was “deeply troubled” by the allegations.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) reviewed the police investigation, and agreed that criminal charges should be laid.
Potter was placed on administrative duty, and made his first court appearance on July 28 in Carcross.
A Crown office in Vancouver is handling the case to avoid any perception of conflict of interest, Yukon Crown prosecutor Noel Sinclair said back in June.
According to a police news release, Potter has been an RCMP officer for five years, and has worked in Carcross since February 2013.
Before that, he had been stationed in Whitehorse.
Comments (19)
Up 33 Down 6
Hockey Dad on Aug 31, 2015 at 3:15 pm
@CJ... you sound like a judge and or lawyer. Hopefully not one that will have a bearing on the sentencing for Mr. Potter?
I still find it hard… no, impossible to believe you would not have reacted in the same way Mr. Potter did if it was your family that was threatened. For your sake, I pray you never have to find out. For my sake, I hope I have the courage to defend my family if and when it is ever needed.
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Hockey Dad on Aug 31, 2015 at 2:57 pm
@Anonymous super secret...........
What does any of that stuff have to do with Mr. Potter and or his case? As it was pointed out Mr. Potter was the person that brought the incident to his superiors. He isn’t trying to hide anything.
I'll post my name as soon as you do.
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CJ on Aug 31, 2015 at 12:33 pm
@Hockey Dad, you bet I don't feel assault is justified at a verbal threat, especially from a police officer. If it's true the guy was in handcuffs and 120 pounds, and perhaps impaired, it seems on the low end of the scale from what police must have to deal with frequently.
Police training is supposed to equip them to handle the worst behaviour without resorting to their greater physical strength inappropriately. That's where their power is, mental toughness, not in their fists.
Much as all you armchair vigilantes don't like it, the police aren't there to enact your tawdry fantasies about righting wrongs that didn't even happen to you. They're not there to help justify your rationale that something makes you special enough to react the same way to anyone who steps outside of your notion of acceptable behaviour and into a sentence that you hand down all by yourselves.
Self-control is essential in that job. It should go without saying. He's not even going to lose his job. I'm sure he's not a "bad person", but he needs to not be a loose cannon. If you're on the frontlines of a war, do you want the person next to you to be unstable?
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Mark S on Aug 31, 2015 at 10:22 am
I will wait for the facts and not automatically think the officer is a bad person.
If someone threatens your family, if that is what took place, it puts the situation in an entirely different realm. Better to not react, but it creates a provocative threshold that can result in a quick physical response.
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Josey Wales on Aug 30, 2015 at 8:22 pm
Cannot fire him eh?
Gee good damn thing he did not refuse to bake a cake for a same sex wedding, that would've got him fired.
Up 38 Down 0
anon on Aug 30, 2015 at 1:49 am
You do have a point carcross copwatch, he should have removed the handcuffs first.
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ben on Aug 30, 2015 at 1:01 am
Carcross copwatch - I don't think he is fighting it, in fact I think he's the one who drew attention to it. It's a shame the video won't get played in court, and then we might see what 120 lb Duke did. By the way Carcross copwatch, I've been arrested and handcuffed in the back of a police car, and the cop never punched me. Maybe has something to do with me not threatening him or his family.
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Anonymous super secret name no balls to name myself! but you already know on Aug 29, 2015 at 10:34 pm
The RCMP have what's known as "shotgun" approach.
Their goal when arresting and charging someone is to get as many charges on the person as possible. Before prosecution begins lawyers have to look at the evidence that exists behind a charge. For the most part many of them are thrown out because the RCMP are into theatrics. I.E. claim a ton with little evidence. "What will get us the conviction"
He pleaded guilty. Good for him. He's probably hoping that this gesture will limit the damage to his repuation and the RCMP old school and hockey dad or whoever you are behind your secret hidden names.
Look up Koester + Bush - Mclaughlin and Belak - misplacing evidence.
One name just recently came out. I'll let you research it.
Charges of sexual harassment from (I know of one) Catherine Galliford.
Or you can read the history of the Yukon. A prominent history even reads "We were fine with justice until the RCMP arrived. Then bribes were the norm." (actual diaries say this!)
Or just google RCMP controversies... I.E. More RCMP on payroll then are actually assigned ('we can't name our plain clothes officers' doesn't work as an excuse) because there is no outside auditor when a maritime province asked for records of the payroll against the member on duty. Numbers didn't add up.
Or we can talk about the pension scandal and Zacarelli...
Or the Menard incident.
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Shirley Beattie on Aug 29, 2015 at 3:58 pm
I've known Duke his whole life and can say with 100% certainty that he was in the wrong and got what he had coming his way. The Carcross RCMP has the full support of all the Beattie family.
Up 81 Down 3
ben on Aug 28, 2015 at 8:53 pm
You couldn't pay me enough to do the RCMP's job at the best of times, but to have your family threatened too.....amazing that a guy might lose his temper in those circumstances....not!!. I'm with Cst Potter here. Hope he reads this, as I probably would've done the same.
Up 32 Down 4
Hockey Dad on Aug 28, 2015 at 3:23 pm
@A Cop Pleaded Guilty!!! Wake up... and give yourself a slap. Your response makes you sound like the typical repeat offender that never takes responsibility for their own actions!
Up 45 Down 2
Hockey Dad on Aug 28, 2015 at 3:08 pm
@CJ I highly doubt that you really feel assault isn't justified when someone threatens a family member.
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Jane Smith on Aug 28, 2015 at 1:16 pm
While I think Cst. Potter's actions were illegal and stupid, I also have a lot of sympathy for him. It must be difficult to maintain your composure 100% of the time when the people you arrest are prone to making threats to you and your loved ones, and to insults, slurs, spitting, punching, slapping, gouging, swinging, puking, urinating, and cursing. Everyone has their limits.
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Carcross copwatch on Aug 28, 2015 at 12:28 pm
Thankful there was a camera in the car, hard fight a charge "punching out a person whom weights 120 lbs and in handcuffs in the back seat.
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A Cop Pleaded Guilty!!! on Aug 28, 2015 at 8:25 am
He pleaded guilty???!!! A cop actually owned up to using his power inappropriately? That's gotta be a first...
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CJ on Aug 27, 2015 at 10:29 pm
They dropped the charges, "Dad". That suggests there wasn't much substance to them. And I hate to break it you, but being a "husband and father" doesn't justify assault, either.
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Good Job on Aug 27, 2015 at 7:38 pm
Good job Cst. Potter! Any 'man' who threatens anothers family deserves what is coming to him....and it sounds like for once he got it...I hope you don't lose your job. You have my respect.
(kinda angry they dropped the charges against the 'victim', what happened doesn't negate his actions)
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Old School on Aug 27, 2015 at 5:49 pm
Did this guy have a broken nose, black eyes, missing teeth and a broken arm after threatening this man's (who also happened to be a police officer) family? No??? Well he should have! He wasn't "assaulted". High time to stand up for our men and women in uniform and put an end to this seemingly contagious trend of crying about police brutality.... Here's a novel idea: Don't do something illegal to get yourself arrested, and if you are arrested, cooperate fully with the police and don't make personal threats to him or his family and you won't have to worry about being "assaulted" by a police officer. Pretty Simple.
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Hockey Dad on Aug 27, 2015 at 4:22 pm
If the guy (Duke) uttered threats against the officer's wife and family why were those charges dropped?
I assume the assault took place after the threats to his family? Being a husband and father I probably would have assaulted him too.