RCMP Cpl. Wayne Oakes says there will be a review of an incident Sunday that left two officers injured. (CBC)A Peace River, Alta., RCMP officer is in hospital with serious injuries after she and her partner were beaten with brass knuckles and had a Taser taken Sunday at a home in Cadotte Lake.
The injured officer was airlifted to Edmonton with serious injuries. Three men were arrested after the incident.
Patrick Carifelle, 30, Keith Carifelle, 22, and Clinton Carifelle, 19, are each facing a number of charges, including assault of a police officer, aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm and disarming a police officer.
Clinton Carifelle has also been charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and use of a weapon in the commission of an offence.
The three have been remanded in custody and will appear in court April 12.
A call involving a fight in a home was made around 3:20 a.m. Sunday from Cadotte Lake, which is a hamlet about 90 kilometres northeast of Peace River.
The two officers responded and were invited into the home where they attempted to arrest one man. At that point, other people in the house punched and kicked the officers repeatedly, police said in a news release.
A call for backup
The officers responded with pepper spray and a Taser and called for backup. They were eventually overwhelmed, police said. Brass knuckles were used and the Taser was taken.
An unsuccessful attempt to take the officers' guns was made as well, police said.
The officers managed to make it to safety and wait for other police to arrive.
They were taken to hospital by ambulance, where one was treated for cuts and bruises and a broken nose. The other was flown to hospital in Edmonton with broken bones in her face and other serious injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
RCMP officers from three different detachments went to Cadotte Lake and took three men into custody.
Inherent danger of policing'
"The officers [who initially responded] are definitely accustomed to policing in that area," said Cpl. Wayne Oakes, who speaks for the RCMP.
"All three of the individuals are known to officers. You just, as part of the inherent danger of policing, you never know when a circumstance is going to go into a very bad mode."
There were 15 to 20 people in the house at the time, he said, and police continue to interview them.
The incident will be reviewed to see if anything should have been done differently, Oakes said, but he added the response time to the officers' distress call was "very timely."
One of the officers who was attacked had two years of experience, the other just one, but Oakes said that was likely not an issue.
"The skills and experiences that those members likely have in a lot of the cases will exceed the skills and experiences that a lot more senior members at less-busy detachments will possess," he said.
The least-injured officer was able to help with the investigation within hours of treatment, Oakes said, adding the constable airlifted to Edmonton was also anxious to get back to work.
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