Two Hamilton police officers to appear in court after being charged with assault

Two constables with the Hamilton police are facing assault charges from separate incidents that occurred in March and May.

Both are charged with assault and are scheduled to appear in the court next month.

Const. Michael Kowalchuk has been charged for a physical altercation with a 53-year-old Hamilton resident man on March 8 - leaving the man with an injured wrist. The incident was also captured on video - which was shared with the Hamilton police and on social media.

Kowalchuk was suspended following the incident.

Ontario's police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, was looking into the alleged assault but dropped its investigation after determining the injuries were not serious enough to meet its mandate.

The 15-year veteran officer is scheduled for his first court appearance on July 12.

Separately, Const. Brian Wren was immediately suspended" after a video emerged on May 26 showing the level of force used" by Wren in an interaction with a suspect being arrested for a stolen vehicle.

After the video was obtained by police from a citizen and a business, a criminal investigation was launched against Wren. His first court date is July 21.

Ritika Dubey is a reporter at The Spectator. rdubey@thespec.com