The case against a St. Albert man and RCMP officer with the force’s elite major case squad is being delayed pending an investigation into the officers who laid the charges against him.
Kelly Tony John Gulaga, 40, was scheduled to go to trial in early May on multiple charges of assault as well as a charge of unlawful confinement.
His defence lawyer, Daryl Royer and Crown prosecutor Jeff Morrison announced in docket court Monday the trial would have to be postponed because of an investigation of officers from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) who initially laid the charges.
Judge Jeanne Burch asked how long the investigation might take and both men said they did not know. Burch directed that the charges return to court on April 26.
Morrison was acting on instruction from Calgary Crown prosecutor Jayme Williams, who is handling the case.
Royer said Gulaga’s alleged victim, who is an Edmonton Police Service detective, is also under investigation.
ASIRT was formed in 2008 with the specific mandate of investigating complaints against police officers across the province.
The team has investigated several cases of alleged criminal behaviour against police officers as well as officer-involved shootings.
The team is made up of civilian investigators as well as police officers drawn from several different police agencies.
Michelle Davio, a spokesperson for the Solicitor-General, confirmed the investigation is under way and said the ASIRT team passed the complaint to the Edmonton Police Service (EPS), where the officers are originally based.
“There were complaints and they were referred back to the home agency.”
Davio said ASIRT investigators are drawn from several different police departments and are blended together on individual investigations.
“There is usually a mix involved in any investigation,” she said. “They are usually seconded for two or three years.”
Gulaga, a 19-year veteran of the RCMP, was charged in September with the assaults, all against the same woman, in an apparent domestic assault case.
EPS spokesperson Karen Carlson confirmed an investigation is under way into three officers, but said she could not provide any details.
“We are investigating a complaint that was made in relation to that matter,” she said. “I can’t get into the details at all. That is what our investigators are there for is to investigate the complaint and get into the details.”
The allegations against Gulaga initially came to the attention of the RCMP in July of last year and were immediately forwarded to ASIRT, who laid charges in September, alleging a string of assaults on the victim between February 2007 and January 2009.
The RCMP suspended Gulaga with pay after the charges arose.
