Const. Andy Yung has now been charged with assault following an internal police investigation in Williams Lake. It was reported in Thursday's edition of The Citizen that RCMP and independent investigators from Abbotsford City Police had worked together on the investigation and recommendations to Crown that charges be laid. A day later, Crown agreed.
"The Williams Lake RCMP can now confirm that the recommended charge of assault against Cst. Yung has been approved by Crown counsel and he will be appearing in court in Williams Lake at a date yet to be determined," said a written statement issued late Thursday by senior RCMP officials.
It is alleged that on Sept. 10, police were called to attend to an (alleged) assault in progress involving one Jamie Haller. The 17-year-old Williams Lake girl was eventually charged with assault in the incident but those charges have been stayed.
In the process of arresting Haller, accusations arose that Yung mistreated the girl. He was one of the arresting officers, said Haller's mother Martina Jeff, in a statement to the BC Civil Liberties Association days after the incident.
"[Yung] put his whole upper body in the car and started punching. I was close enough to see the movement of his arms as he was striking her," said Jeff's statement which has yet to be verified by a court. "When I looked in the car I saw my daughter. Her face started swelling really bad. There was blood coming down on each side of her mouth. She was handcuffed, with her hands behind her back."
A court date for Yung was not announced. The statements and photos provided by the BC Civil Liberties Association on behalf of the complainants are only allegations and have yet to stand up to the rigors of court.
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