Brooks man turns himself in to Lethbridge police over cop assault
A Brooks man accused of assaulting a police officer during a wild Halloween party on the weekend, then fleeing, has turned himself in.
Peyton Thomas Kale Many Shots, 18, surrendered to Calgary police Tuesday night, two days after a warrant for his arrest was issued by Lethbridge police.
As of late Thursday, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is now investigating the incident due to officer involvement.
LPS has also responded to an Instagram video posted, saying what was captured and posted only shows a segment of the overall incident.
The 37-second video has been been viewed nearly 30,000 times on social media.
“I think what’s important for people to understand is the video shows a very brief snapshot of a larger situation,” said LPS spokesperson Kristen Harding. “There’s no context with respect to the totality of the circumstances or the events leading up to the few seconds that were shared on social media.”
At about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Lethbridge police were called to an out-of-control party involving 100 to 150 young people — many of whom were intoxicated — at La Cite Des Prairies in the 600 block of 21st Street S. When officers arrived, they were met with a crowd of people rushing to get out of the building because a fire extinguisher had been discharged and fights among the partygoers had broken out.
As the crowd was leaving, police said, another fight broke out one block south of the building, and while an officer was placing one person under arrest, a man tackled him from behind, knocking the officer to the ground.
The man attempted to hold the officer down and remove his Taser from its holster, but the officer broke free and the assailant took off. The officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Following review of the video, a notification was made to the Director of Law Enforcement as required under Section 46.1 of the Police Act in relation to matters that are deemed serious or sensitive in nature.
An independent ASIRT investigation was subsequently directed.
“I have the utmost confidence in our officers and the training we provide,” said Deputy Chief Scott Woods, in a release Thursday evening. “Transparency is critical to maintaining the public’s trust and as a Service we welcome this independent investigation by ASIRT.”
LPS officials said they will not provide any additional comment in order to protect the integrity of the ASIRT investigation.
Many Shots was released from custody shortly after he turned himself into police and he is scheduled to appear in Lethbridge provincial court Nov. 20.