Items
Tag
Unnecessary Exercise of Authority
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Youth victim cooperates with arrest, officer tases him despite cooperation
On April 3, 2004, a 21 year old man was followed by police in a car chase through North Edmonton. He was stopped with spike belts and got out of the car at a run. Soon he surrendered and dropped on his stomach to the ground. He was approached by six officers, including Constable Wasylyshen, who kicked him in the head. A knee was placed on his back holding him down, bloodying his face. He was then tasered multiple times by several officers.While attempting to handcuff him, Wasylyshen broke and injured fingers on the victim's hand. At a cross-examination after the event, the court found Wasylyshen to have displayed a disturbing arrogance and an unwillingness to confront his mistakes. In a 2012 disciplinary hearing, Wasylyshen was found guilty of two counts of unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority and insubordination. -
Man in mental health crisis tasered and arrested by police
On February 7th, 2017, after an argument with his father, an individual stated he would take his own life and left the residence with a hunting knife. Officers J. Blezy and D. McFarland were dispatched to his location and found the individual searching his vehicle, but upon being approach stated he had no knife. He was tased and arrested before being taken to a hospital. Months later on August 5th, 2017, the individual was arrested again by officers Strickland, Wagner, and Li, and allegedly assaulted by Wagner. During a verbal altercation at the police station with Strickland, he was allegedly told that he should kill himself as it'd save the police from further paperwork. -
Victim experiencing panic attack and suicidal thoughts encouraged by officer to "go ahead" and kill himself
Tyler Lychak was experiencing a panic attack and thoughts of suicide when he was assaulted by Edmonton Police Officer Binoy Prabhu on November 3, 2017. The incident began when Lychek went to the west Edmonton Police Station to report concerns about someone who may have been selling drugs to minors outside of a nearby store. Upon exiting the police station, Lychaks foot hit one of the sliding doors and dislodged it, causing a loud noise (which officer Derek Cranna testified to in a disciplinary hearing). Officer Prabhu and another officer followed Lychak to the parking lot where there was an argument. Lychak was arrested for mischief, placed in handcuffs, and escorted back into the police station. Lychak was brought into a holding cell and was searched by the officers. Officer Prabhu found a pressurized spray can of Sabre Dog and Coyote Attack Deterrent in Lychaks pocket and Lychak was informed that he was under arrest for possession of a weapon. Lychak stated that he was frightened of Officer Prabhu and he began hyperventilating. While escorting Lychak to the phone room, Prabhu grabbed Lychak and pulled him with enough force that Lychak fell to the ground. Lychak told investigating officers that he hit his head on the wall and suffered bruising to his hip and back along with soreness to his neck and shoulder. Prabhus use of force was captured on police station closed-circuit cameras. Lychak used the phone to call 911, stating that he was having a panic attack and the police were not helping him. After Lychak made the phone call, Prabhu returned him to the holding cell. Lychak told the officer he was going to try to kill himself and that he had attempted suicide in the past. Prabhu responded with go ahead. In the disciplinary hearing that followed this incident, Prabhu admitted to the above statement and the use of excessive force. "I basically relive it every day," Lychak told CBC News. "It goes through my head every day and it's really hard to block it out&I want to do this so that in the future, people with mental disabilities or mental problems can get treated better by the police. I believe that training is necessary to save lives." In 2015, Prabu was charged with assaulting his wife. The charge was withdrawn in 2016 when Prabhu admitted that he had caused his wife to fear personal injury. Prabhu entered a one-year peace bond as a result. Prabhu received a criminal charge led to two separate findings of discreditable conduct. The first finding occurred two weeks after Prabhu's encounter with Lychak. He was given a 30-hour suspension without pay and ordered to seek counseling. Prabhu went on a six-month medical leave in December 2017 and sought psychological help. He also admitted to a neglect of duty misconduct charge that dated back to October 2017. -
Two sleeping men tasered by police after forced entry into hotel room
At approximately 02:00 hours on November 27, 2003, three men were sleeping in a room at the Cromdale hotel. Without the occupants' consent their room was entered by four police officers who were searching for an armed suspect in a robbery. Two of the men who were sleeping were subjected to a taser on stun mode. The police stated it was used to wake them up. The three men were detained and eventually released without charges. The police officer did not have sufficient ground to detain or arrest any of the men.