Items

• Person in custody experiences physical violence from police.

  On December 28, 2013 victim attended Edmonton Oilers hockey game at Recall Place and later was arrested and detained by the Edmonton Police Service (EPS). The victim submitted Statement of claim that he was not informed of reasons for his arrest and detention at Rexall Place by any of respondents along with unlawful and unnecessary exercise of authority, force, insubordination, and neglect of duty. Further, it is alleged that victim was not immediately advised of his Charter rights upon arrival at Downtown Division, and that he wasnt provided opportunity to speak to counsel until approximately three hours after his arrest. The timing of completion of the investigation was such that it was completed and forwarded to counsel for review before the letter from the appellants counsel dated August 6, 2015 was received by PSB. The suggested importance of the transcript was not flagged by appellants counsel and a copy was not provided to PSB or the Chief. There is no evidence on the record of lack of transparency or that the or the Chief deliberately ignored information in the trial transcript that was decisive of an important issue. The Board concluded that the investigation conducted by the Chief was reasonable and not tainted or compromised.
• Victim has his home broken into by police before they interrogate, beat and tase him

  Marty and Cynthia Lacerte had a number of officers forcefully enter their home on or around October 27, 2006. Upon doing so, their door was damaged, and both were interrogated by the officers without being informed of their Charter rights. When Marty asked about whether the officers had a warrant, one officer allegedly responded, falsely, that they didn't need one, after which Marty was then thrown to the ground. Allegedly, one officer stood on his head as others began kicking him and he was tased twice. After this ordeal, he was further detained.
• 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.
• Man receives permanent facial injuries requiring surgery in assault by EPS officers

  Anthony Maskell was beaten and left with permanent facial injuries by Constables Nadine Comeau and Darin Goldenberg during a traffic stop in March of 2010. This is a case of egregious police conduct  an unwarranted, grave assault causing serious permanent injuries, Provincial court Judge Donna Groves said in a 2011 written ruling. This is one of those clearest of cases that requires the court to communicate unequivocally that such conduct will not be tolerated. The officers pulled over Maskell because a check on his license plate revealed he was suspended from driving. Officers removed Maskell from the car and threw him to the ground, placing him in the prone position. Maskell said that he was aggressively handcuffed and that the handcuffs were too tight. Officer Weins, who arrived on the scene with his partner after Maskell was handcuffed, testified that Maskell was pushed against the side of the car to hold him up. Weins stated that Maskell was having difficulty holding himself up and his legs were unsteady. Maskell states that he was thrown like a rag doll and that his face was pushed against the car by officers Comeau and Goldenberg. He reported having difficulty remaining conscious and having difficulty remembering much of what happened during the encounter with police. The officers said that Maskell exhibited signs of impairment; however, Maskell explained that the slurred speech and any possible stumbling or disorientation on his part were symptoms of a head injury. Judge Grove noticed several inconsistencies between the testimony of Goldenberg and Comeau in their recounting of the events. The judge deemed Maskells testimony of events credible. Maskells family took him to the Royal Alexandra Hospital where he underwent a CT scan and it was determined that Maskell had suffered severe facial trauma. Maskell was diagnosed with multiple facial bone fractures predominantly on the right side of his face. Maskells orbital bone was broken, as well as his nose. He had a deviated septum, and the tissues in his cheek were separated from the bone. Surgery was required to repair the damage to the right zygoma, right maxilla, right orbital floor, and a resuspension of the right cheek tissue. During surgery, two titanium plates were permanently inserted in the orbital/cheek area.
• 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.
• Victim assaulted, arrested, and searched after jaywalking; EPS officers investigated and sued in civil court

  Deron Kuski, a lawyer from Regina, was arrested on August 4, 2002, by Edmonton Police Service officers Jason Forbes and Carlos Cardoso after jaywalking. Kuski and two companions crossed a street with no visible traffic. After reaching the other side of the street, officers Forbes and Cardoso approached Kuski and his companions. Forbes asked Kuski for identification, which Kuski did not provide. Forbes asked Kuski if he could search him, to which Kuski replied no, what for. Without warning, Forbes placed Kuski in handcuffs and kneed him on the top of the knee, causing Kuskis leg to buckle. Forbes proceeded to search Kuski and remove his identification and personal belongings from Kuskis pockets. Kuski did not resist while being handcuffed but was shocked with the amount of aggression that the officers used against him. Whenever I would hear about a complaint like this against a police officer or someone in authority, you hold some kind of skepticism toward it Kuski said in a CBC article (linked below). You think the guy must have done something, he must have lipped them off or got physical with them or something. And the fact this incident was not like that, yet they maintain they were within their rights of doing what they did, is so disturbing to me. Forbes told Kuski that he would be taken to the police station. Kuski was read his rights, but he asserts that he was not told what he was being arrested for. Kuski was placed in a police cruiser and detained in a cell at the Old Strathcona Police station for approximately one hour before being released around 2:30 am. Kuski was locked out of the police station while only wearing a golf shirt and pants in 0