Victoria police officers charged with assault

The Victoria police department revealed Wednesday that two of its officers have been charged with assault the same dayB.C. Solicitor General Kash Heed released a report on the use of force by the city's police.

Consts. Ryan Young and Brent Keleher face two charges each of assault in connection with an incident in October 2009 involving two brothers who had been arrested for public drunkenness.

The officers, already hit with police discipline following an internal investigation in regard to the allegations, will remain on active duty while the charges are before the courts, Victoria police Chief Jamie Graham said Wednesday.

The alleged assault occurred during transport of people in custody to the police station and later in the police cell block.

Audit reports drop in Taser use

The charges were announced as an audit of the Victoria department was released that found 13 of its 241 officers were responsible for one-third of all the department's use-of-force reports.

The number of use-of-force incidents declined in Victoria after the Robert Dziekanski Taser incident, which Graham attributed to caution exercised by officers across Canada after the Polish man died at Vancouver airport and a video of the incident was released.

The audit report noted that Taser use by police dropped in Victoria by 85 per cent afterDziekanski's death.

Heed said he believed Graham is providing strong leadership for the Victoria police.

"We have the proper oversight in place and the proper accountability in place, so we can increase the confidence the public has for the police service," the solicitor general said.

The two officers will face their charges in court next month.