Officer testifies stress, anxiety led him to use force against suspect
Severe beating victim Clayton Prince wasn’t co-operating when he was roughly handled by police, one of the officers charged with his assault said Monday.
But Const. James Othen said he didn’t even realize Prince got on the ground on his own volition until he saw dash cam video of the arrest.
Othen, testifying in his own defence, said the anxiety and stress of the situation made him use force against Prince during the July 30, 2016, incident.
He told defence counsel Alain Hepner that foot chases are one of the most stressful parts of a police officer’s job.
“Without a doubt, a foot chase is one of the most anxious situations you can be put in as a police officer,” Othen told his provincial court trial.
“The stress level is through the roof,” he said. “You don’t know if they have guns, needles or knives.”
Othen said he heard over the radio that Const. Derrick Matkar was involved in a foot chase in their district on the south side of Calgary.
He and partner Kevin Humfrey then raced to the scene near Glenmore and Macleod trails, where they saw Prince hiding in bushes.
When Humfrey yelled at him to surrender, Prince fled, Othen said.
But they soon caught up to him and Prince turned to face the officers.
“I was like, ‘Holy smokes’ in my head, going, ‘Here we go. This is gonna be the fight,’” he said.
“I believed that this guy wanted to fight. I thought I was gonna be in the fight of my life.”
Othen said he didn’t really take note of Prince’s size at that time.
“Physical size doesn’t matter. Weapons are the great equalizer,” he testified. “This guy’s ready to fight, regardless of his size, regardless of anything.”
Othen said after taking two steps toward him and Humfrey, Prince turned to flee once again.
At that point Const. Chris Harris arrived and drew his service weapon on the suspect.
“I see Chris Harris out of the corner of my right eye … pull his service weapon and point it at the offender,” he said, of Prince, who was originally charged, before all allegations against him were dropped.
He said the presence of Harris’s gun made the situation even more tense.
“What does Const. Harris see that made him now elevate this entire situation where a firearm is now pointed at the guy?”
But under cross-examination, Edmonton Crown prosecutor Jim Stewart asked Othen why at that point did he jump, knees first, on the prone Prince’s back.
“You just interrupted his surrender with tremendous force to the small of his back,” Stewart said.
“I don’t believe that,” Othen said. “I don’t believe I disrupted his surrender.”
The officer disputed the dash cam video of the arrest shows Prince with his hands on top of his head.
“I still don’t believe he (had) his hands on his head,” Othen said, even after being shown a still of the video footage.
Meanwhile, Humfrey testified he only used a “stunning technique” in striking Prince when the suspect resisted being handcuffed. Humfrey said he tried to grab Prince’s left hand and when he pulled it away he had to strike him to reestablish his grip.
Othen and Humfrey are charged with assault causing bodily harm and public mischief for allegedly lying on their post-incident reports.
A third officer, Const. Mike Sandalack, is also charged with assault, while Othen faces an additional charge of assault with a weapon for allegedly pushing a key into the back of Prince’s neck, a charge he denied.
Othen admitted he incorrectly said in his report he took Prince down, but realized his mistake when he viewed the video.