Prison cell video shows violent takedown
Family suing RCMP constable alleging his violence was fuelled by steroids
A disturbing prison cell video shows a violent takedown of a 47- year- old construction worker by a police officer two years ago in Terrace.
Robert Wright was arrested by Terrace RCMP for suspected drunk driving on April 21, 2012. Police told his wife Heather Prisk-Wright that he was sleeping in his cell and not to come and get him until morning.
But when she showed up she was told that he had been airlifted to hospital for emergency brain surgery.
Now a surveillance video from the prison obtained through a freedom of information request by Prisk-Wright shows what happened before he was injured. In the video, Wright can be seen handcuffed and kneeling in a cell, facing the wall and being searched by three police officers. Wright is heard swearing at the officer after he is asked to calm down.
Then an officer takes him down on the ground and blood from Wright’s head or face can be seen pouring out onto the floor.
“I fully expect your cooperation from this point on,” one of three officers says, and scolds Wright for not keeping his ankles crossed together.
Wright groans in pain as the officers talk.
The officers then check to see whether Wright is breathing.
“Can you see where he’s bleeding from?” asks one officer, before another kneeling by Wright replies “No.”
The B.C. Civil Liberties Association says Wright sustained a head injury requiring 12 stitches. He had to be taken by air ambulance for emergency surgery in the Vancouver area, where he lay in a coma for 10 days. The association says Wright has significant memory issues making independent living impossible.
In January, Wright filed a lawsuit against the RCMP constable and the province but he has since amended his statement of claim.
Wright, who is First Nations, alleges Const. Brian Heideman’s excessive use of force was exacerbated by the officer’s use of steroids that “caused him to be unduly aggressive and violent.’’
Scott Stanley, Wright’s lawyer, said the amendment was made after unrelated allegations surfaced about Heideman’s use and distribution of steroids.
From her home in Terrace, Prisk-Wright said Friday she couldn’t believe that no disciplinary measures have been taken against the officer. She said she has to take care of her husband full-time because of his brain injury, and sometimes he forgets where he is going.
He recently took their dog for a walk in a nearby field, a familiar path he had taken many times before. But after two hours, she had to call police because he hadn’t returned.
“I was terrified. I did eventually find him a few blocks away.”
She was reluctant to watch the video of her husband in the prison cell but decided she had to see what happened. “It was so upsetting,” she said.
Wright has rehabilitation five days a week, she said, including art therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy, but doctors have told her they can’t do much because it’s a brain injury and permanent. He has done a total of 15 weeks of rehab at the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver.
Josh Paterson, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, called the video “shocking,” adding that it appears that the takedown was an “excessive” use of force.
“Mr. Wright was kneeling on a bench, cuffed, and posing no apparent threat at the time that a constable smashed him to the floor, breaking his head open and leaving a pool of blood. Rob’s trip to the cells was a life sentence to a permanent and debilitating brain injury. We hope that the family’s lawsuit will get to the bottom of why this happened, and that it will bring some measure of justice to the (Prisk-Wright) family,” Paterson said in a news release Friday.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs said the video shows how little value was placed on Wright’s humanity.
“He can never go back. He will never be the same. The police have got to be held accountable and we fully support them in this fight,” Phillip said.
The New Westminster Police Department investigated the case and recommended charges against at least one police officer. However, the Crown declined to approve those charges and proceed to trial.
At the time, the Criminal Justice Branch said there was not a substantial likelihood of any conviction. A statement from the branch said there was video and audio, but the evidence did not establish the force used was unlawful. The Crown also said a neurosurgeon could not conclude trauma the man suffered during the incident caused the bleeding in his brain — suggesting instead it was caused by a medical condition.
In November 2012, the association and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs called for the province to appoint a special prosecutor to review whether criminal charges should be laid. The B.C. government did not act on this request, according to the association.