Published: 2026-03-27

The Director of the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) has reasonable grounds to believe that a member of the Saint John Police Force (SJPF) has committed a criminal offence.

SJPF first contacted SiRT on July 10, 2025, regarding the force used by one of their officers during an arrest that took place on July 5, 2025. SJPF provided additional details to SiRT on August 29, 2025. After reviewing the available information, it was determined the file did not meet the SiRT mandate for an investigation.

In early November 2025, the New Brunswick Public Prosecution Services independently referred this incident to SiRT due to their own concerns related to the officer’s use of force. SiRT subsequently learned that an adult male had sustained serious injuries during the noted arrest, which meets SiRT’s mandate and an official investigation was started.

Following this investigation, on March 27, 2026, Cst. Michael Jackson was charged with assault causing bodily harm, contrary to s. 267(b) and assault with a weapon, contrary to s. 267(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada. The alleged date of the offence is July 5, 2025.

Cst. Jackson will appear before the Saint John Provincial Court, 10 Peel Plaza, on June 15, 2026 at 9:30 am.

The Director’s report can be found online: 2025-0079-Directors-Summary-69c68cf16bcfd.pdf. As the matter is before the courts SiRT will not provide further comment on the investigation.

SiRT is responsible for investigating all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and intimate partner violence or other matters of a public interest that may have arisen from the actions of a police officer, on or off duty, in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. Investigations are under the direction and control of an independent civilian director, who has the sole authority to determine if charges should be laid at the conclusion of an investigation.

Media Contact

Khalehla Perrault
Manager of Strategic Communications & Special Projects
Email: Khalehla.Perrault@novascotia.ca