Canada, Hells Angels brawl...Special prosecutor will send two Mounties to trial on assault charges..

OFF THE WIRE
By Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun
Off-duty police were involved in brawl with members of Hells Angels..
Read more: Special prosecutor will send two Mounties to trial on assault charges, A special prosecutor has decided to proceed to trial with a Kelowna assault case...
A special prosecutor has decided to proceed to trial with a Kelowna assault case involving two off-duty Mounties who got into a brawl with Hells Angels members and other bikers last year.
Kamloops lawyer Robert Bruneau was appointed as special prosecutor because one of the off-duty officers, RCMP Const. Kiel Samotej of Alberta, is a relative of assistant deputy attorney-general Robert Gillen.
Charges were approved earlier this year against Samotej, 25, and RCMP Const. David Christopher Macdonald, 40, of Prince Edward Island.
The off-duty officers were with a group of seven friends when they allegedly got involved in a brawl outside Cheetah’s nightclub in Kelowna on Aug. 7 last year with 15 to 20 members of the Hells Angels and other bikers wearing “Throttle Lockers” insignia, known as “colours.”
At the time, police said the incident began with a “shoulder bump” inside the club, which led to a brawl outside.
Macdonald, who was charged with regard to his alleged assault of an unknown man wearing Hells Angels colours, was taken to hospital for treatment of injuries. Other members of McDonald’s group sustained minor injuries that did not require hospitalization.
A 25-year-old Kelowna man, Errol Milsom-Gardener, was also charged with assault causing bodily harm in relation to his alleged role in the attack on Macdonald.
Bruneau was appointed last July 20 as special prosecutor to review the charge approval decision and take conduct of the case because of the link to Gillen.
“Mr. Gillen concluded that although Mr. Samotej is not a member of his immediate family, in the circumstances it was appropriate that a special prosecutor take conduct of the case,” said a statement issued last week by the criminal justice branch, which oversees prosecutions in B.C.
After a review by Bruneau, the lawyer concluded there is a public interest in proceeding to trial with the charges.
The trial of Samotej and Macdonald has been set for July 4, 2011 in Kelowna.The off-duty officers are also facing an internal investigation of the conduct that led to the charges.

nhall@vancouversun.com
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