Saskatoon police officer charged following internal review

A Saskatoon police officer has been charged with common assault following an internal review into conduct last year.

Const. J. Gelowitz was charged in relation to an on-duty response to a stolen vehicle that evaded police in spite of officers trying to stop the driver in December 2016.

Gelowitz has since been reassigned to administrative duties within the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) pending the outcome of court proceedings.

As per policy, the police service’s use of force review committee and professional standards section looked into the matter.

SPS did not detail what led to the internal investigation of the constable’s actions at the time of arrest in December 2016.

In an initial news release, police said officers spotted a stolen SUV being driven in the area of 8th Street and Clarence Avenue shortly after midnight Dec. 19, 2016.

When the marked patrol car tried to stop the SUV, the driver of the stolen vehicle failed to pull off and tried to evade officers.

Police said stop sticks were deployed successfully by other responding officers and after a short time the stolen vehicle was unable to move.

Two men inside the car at the time were arrested. The 18-year-old driver was taken to hospital for a minor cut on his arm, while the 17-year-old passenger was taken to SPS cells.

Both were charged with possessing stolen property more than $5,000 and fleeing police.

In addition, the driver had outstanding criminal warrants and was reported to have breached on his conditions from a previous court release document.

A court date for Gelowitz has been scheduled for Jan. 25, 2018.